Y-ALE   HISTORICAL   MANUSCRIPTS 

A  Journey  to  Ohio 
in  1810 


Margaret  Van  Horn  D wight 


YALE     UNIVERSITY     PRESS 


JBRARY 

NIVCWSITYOF 
CALIFORNIA 

3 AN  DIEGO 


YALE 
HISTORICAL   MANUSCRIPTS 

I 

PUBLISHED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF  THE 

DEPARTMENT  OF  HISTORY 

FROM  THE  INCOME  OF 

THE   FREDERICK  JOHN   KINGSBURY 
MEMORIAL   FUND 


A  JOURNEY  TO   OHIO 

IN   1810 


EDITED  WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION 

BY 

MAX  FARRAND 


NEW  HAVEN 

YALE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 

1912 


COPYRIGHT,  1912, 

BY 
YALE  UNIVERSITY  PRESS 


First  printed  September,  six  hundred  copies 


INTRODUCTION 

"If  it  be  true  that  good  wine  needs  no  bush,  'tis 
true  that  a  good  play  needs  no  epilogue;"  and  Rosa- 
lind might  well  have  added  that  a  good  story  needs 
no  prologue.  The  present  journal  is  complete  in  it- 
self, and  it  is  such  a  perfect  gem,  that  it  seems  a  pity 
to  mar  its  beauty  by  giving  it  any  but  the  simplest 
setting.  There  are  many  readers,  however,  with 
enough  human  interest  to  wish  to  know  who  Rosa- 
lind really  was,  and  to  be  assured  that  she  "married 
and  lived  happily  ever  after."  That  is  the  reason 
for  this  introduction. 

Margaret  Van  Horn  Dwight  was  born  on  Decem- 
ber 29,  1790.  She  was  the  daughter  of  Doctor 
Maurice  William  Dwight,  a  brother  of  President 
Timothy  Dwight  of  Yale,  and  Margaret  (DeWitt) 
Dwight.  The  death  of  her  father  in  1796,  and  the 
subsequent  marriage  of  her  mother,  was  probably 
the  reason  for  Margaret  Dwight  being  taken  by  her 
grandmother,  Mary  Edwards  Dwight,  a  daughter  of 
Jonathan  Edwards,  who  trained  her  as  her  own  child 
in  her  family  in  Northampton.  The  death  of  her 
grandmother,  February  7,  1807,  was  the  occasion  of 
her  going  to  live  in  New  Haven  in  the  family  of  her 
aunt,  Mary  Edwards  Dwight,  who  had  married 
William  Walton  Woolsey,  and  whose  son  was  Presi- 
dent Theodore  Woolsey. 

Three  years  later,  in  1810,  Margaret  Dwight  left 
New  Haven  to  go  to  her  cousins  in  Warren,  Ohio. 

[v] 


INTRODUCTION 

It  was  doubtless  there  that  she  met  Mr.  Bell,  whom 
she  married,  December  17,  1811,  a  year  after  her 
arrival.  William  Bell,  Jr.,  was  born  in  Ireland, 
February  n,  1781,  and  after  1815  he  was  a  whole- 
sale merchant  in  Pittsburgh. 

The  family  genealogy  formally  records  that  Mar- 
garet Dwight  Bell  became  the  mother  of  thirteen 
children,  that  she  died  on  October  9,  1834,  and  that 
she  was  "a  lady  of  remarkable  sweetness  and  excel- 
lence, and  devotedly  religious."  Family  tradition 
adds  a  personal  touch  in  relating  that  her  home  was 
a  center  of  hospitality  and  that  she  herself  was  active 
and  very  vivacious. 

The  journal  of  the  rough  wagon  trip  to  Ohio  in 
1810  was  evidently  kept  by  Margaret  Dwight  in 
fulfilment  of  a  promise  to  her  cousin,  Elizabeth 
Woolsey,  to  whom  it  was  sent  as  soon  as  the  journey 
was  over.  A  good  many  years  later  the  journal  was 
given  to  a  son  of  the  author,  and  the  original  is  now 
in  the  possession  of  a  granddaughter,  Miss  Kath- 
arine Reynolds  Wishart  of  Waterford,  Pennsyl- 
vania. It  has  been  well  cared  for  and  is  in  excellent 
condition,  except  that  the  first  two  pages  are  missing. 
This  is  of  less  importance  from  the  fact  that  two 
independent  copies  had  been  made.  The  text  of  the 
journal  here  printed  is  taken  from  the  original  manu- 
script, and  is  reproduced  as  accurately  as  typographi- 
cal devices  permit. 

MAX  FARRAND. 


[vi] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 


Milford  Friday  Eve.  at  Capt  Pond's. 

Shall  I  commence  my  journal,  my  dear  Elizabeth, 
with  a  description  of  the  pain  I  felt  at  taking  leave 
of  all  my  friends,  or  shall  I  leave  you  to  imagine? — 
The  afternoon  has  been  spent  by  me  in  the  most 
painful  reflections  &  in  almost  total  silence  by  my 
companions-  I  have  thought  of  a  thousand  things 
unsaid,  a  thousand  kindnesses  unpaid  with  thanks 
that  I  ought  to  have  remembered  more  seasonably; 
and  the  neglect  of  which  causes  me  many  uneasy 
feelings-  my  neglecting  to  take  leave  of  Sally,  has 
had  the  same  effect-  I  hope  she  did  not  feel  hurt  by 
it,  for  it  proceeded  from  no  want  of  gratitude  for 
her  kindness  to  me.  I  did  not  imagine  parting  with 
any  friend  could  be  so  distressing  as  I  found  leaving 
your  Mama.  I  did  not  know  till  then,  how  much  I 
loved  her  &  could  I  at  that  moment  have  retraced 
my  steps !  but  it  was  too  late  to  repent —  Deacon 
Wolcott  &  his  wife  are  very  kind,  obliging,  people, 
&  Miss  Wolcott  is  a  very  pleasant  companion,  I  do 
not  know  what  I  should  do  without  her.  We  came 
on  to  Butler's  this  afternoon  &  I  came  immediately 
down  to  Uncle  Pond's  &  drank  tea.  Miss  W.  came 
with  me  &  both  Uncle  &  Aunt  invited  her  to  stay  and 

[i] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

sleep  with  me,  which  she  accordingly  did.  Cousin 
Patty  has  been  with  me,  to  say  good  bye,  to  all  my 
friends,  &  to-morrow  we  proceed  to  Stamford. 

Sat.  night,  D.  Nash's  Inn.     Middlesex- 

We  had  a  cold,  unsociable  ride  today,  each  one  of 
us  being  occupied  in  thinking  of  the  friends  we  had 
left  behind  &  of  the  distance,  which  was  every  mo- 
ment increasing,  between  them  &  us.  Mrs  W  has 
left  an  aged  father  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption, 
that  was  a  sufficient  excuse  for  silence  on  her  part. 
Mr  W.  made  several  attempts  to  dispel  &  by  kind 
words  &  phebeish*  looks  but  without  success;  he 
appears  to  be  a  very  fond  husband.  We  stopt  to 
eat  oats  at  a  Tavern  in  Fairfield,  West  Farms,  an 
old  Lady  came  into  the  room  where  Miss  W.  (whose 
name,  by  the  way,  is  Susan,  not  Hannah,  Sally,  or 
Abby)  &  we  were  sitting.  "Well !  Gals  where  are 
you  going?"  "To  New  Connecticut"  "You  bant 
tho-  To  New  Connecticut?  Why  what  a  long  jour- 
ney! do  you  ever  expect  to  get  there?  How  far  is 
it?"  "Near  600  miles"  "Well  Gals,  you  Gals  & 
your  husbands  with  you?"  "No  Ma'am"-  "Not  got 
your  husbands  !  Well  I  don't  know-  they  say  there's 
wild  Indians  there!"  The  poor  woman  was  then 
call'd  out  to  her  daughter  (the  mistress  of  the 
house)  who  she  told  us  has  been  ill  five  months  with 
a  swelling  &  she  had  come  that  afternoon  to  see  it 


*For  the  description  of  the  word  Phebeish,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Miss  Julia. 

[2] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

launch* d  by  the  Physicians  who  were  then  in  the 
house —  She  went  out  but  soon  return'd  &  told  us 
they  were  "cutting  her  poor  child  all  to  pieces"-  She 
did  not  know  but  she  should  as  lieve  see  a  wild 
Indian  as  to  see  that  scene  over  again —  I  felt  very 
sorry  for  the  poor  old  Lady-  I  could  not  help  smil- 
ing at  the  comparison.  The  country  we  pass  thro' 
till  we  are  beyond  N.  York,  I  need  not  describe  to 
you,  nor  indeed  could  I ;  for  I  am  attended  by  a  very 
unpleasant  tho'  not  uncommon,  companion-  one  to 
whom  I  have  bow'd  in  subjection  ever  since  I  left 
you-Pride —  It  has  entirely  prevented  my  seeing  the 
country  lest  I  should  be  known —  You  will  cry  "for 
shame"  &  so  did  I  but  it  did  no  good-  I  could  neither 
shame  nor  reason  it  away,  &  so  I  suppose  it  will 
attend  me  to  the  mountains,  then  I  am  sure  it  will 
bid  me  adieu-  "for  you  know  the  proverb"  'pride 
dwelleth  not  among  the  mountains'-  I  don't  cer- 
tainly know  where  this  proverb  is  to  be  found,  but 
Julia  can  tell  you-  for  if  I  mistake  not  it  is  on  the 
next  page  to  "There  is  nothing  sweet"  &c-  I  do  not 
find  it  so  unpleasant  riding  in  a  waggon  as  I  ex- 
pected- nor  am  I  very  much  fatigued  with  it-  but 
four  weeks  to  ride  all  the  time,  is  fatigueing  to  think 
of-  We  came  on  to  Nash's  tavern  where  we  found  no 
company  excepting  one  gentleman  who  looks  like  a 
Dr  Susannah  (Mr  Nash's  granddaughter)  says  he 
is  a  "particular  bit"  one  who  likes  good  eating  & 
a  great  deal  of  waiting  upon,  better  than  he  likes  to 
pay  for  it-  Here  we  stay  over  the  Sabbath. 

[3] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

Sunday  eve — 

This  morning  Susannah  came  &  invited  us  to 
attend  meeting-  we  at  first  refused  but  I  afterwards 
chang'd  my  mind,  &  "took  a  notion"  (as  Susannah 
told  her  friends  to  whom  she  did  me  the  honour  to 
introduce  me)  to  go-  so  taking  an  apple  to  eat  on  the 
road  we  set  out  for  the  church-  It  was  "situated  on 
an  eminence"  but  was  a  small  old  wooden  building- 
The  minister;  who  I  found  was  brother  to  Mr 
Fisher,  Susannah  told  me  was  not  very  well  liked 
by  some  "he  hadn't  so  good  a  gait  to  deliver  his 
sermons  as  some,"  but  she  believ'd  he  was  a  very 
serious  good  man-  She  then  gave  me  his  history  but 
I  cannot  spend  time  to  give  it  to  you —  The  sermon 
had  nothing  very  striking  in  it  but  if  I  had  time  I 
would  write  you  the  text  heads  &c  just  to  let  you 
see  I  remember  it,  though  I  fear  it  has  done  me  no 
good  for  I  heard  it  like  a  stranger  and  did  not  real- 
ize that  I  was  interested  in  it  at  all-  I  was  en- 
tirely of  Susannah's  opinion  respecting  the  preacher, 
for  I  thought  his  "gait  to  deliver"  was  better  than 
his  voice,  for  he  has  a  most  terrible  nasal  twang — 
Before  we  got  home  at  noon,  I  had  found  out  the 
squire  &  half  the  parish,  Susannah's  history  &  many 
other  interesting  things  which  I  have  almost  for- 
gotten—  I  saw  4  or  5  well  dress'd  good  looking  girls, 
&  as  many  young  men  answering  the  first  part  of 
the  description,  one  of  whom  was  chorister-  &  an- 
other, from  the  resemblance  he  bears  them,  I  imag- 
ine must  be  brother  to  Miss  Haines  or  the  N  York 

[4] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

Sexton —  I  went  all  day  to  meeting  &  am  now  very 
tir'd,  for  our  walk  was  a  very  long  one,  I  should 
think  almost  2  miles  each  way  which  would  make 
almost  4  miles  for  one  poor  sermon 

October  22-  Monday-  Cook's  inn — 

County  West  Chester- 

I  never  will  go  to  New  Connecticut  with  a  Deacon 
again,  for  we  put  up  at  every  byeplace  in  the  country 
to  save  expence-  It  is  very  grating  to  my  pride  to  go 
into  a  tavern  &  furnish  &  cook  my  own  provision-  to 
ride  in  a  wagon  &c  &c-  but  that  I  can  possibly  get 
along  with-  but  to  be  oblig'd  to  pass  the  night  in  such 
a  place  as  we  are  now  in,  just  because  it  is  a  little 
cheaper,  is  more  than  I  am  willing  to  do-  I  should 
even  rather  drink  clear  rum  out  of  the  wooden  bottle 
after  the  deacon  has  drank  &  wip'd  it  over  with  his 
hand,  than  to  stay  here  another  night —  The  house 
is  very  small  &  very  dirty-  it  serves  for  a  tavern,  a 
store,  &  I  should  imagine  hog's  pen  stable  &  every 
thing  else-  The  air  is  so  impure  I  have  scarcely  been 
able  to  swallow  since  I  enter'd  the  house-  The  land- 
lady is  a  fat,  dirty,  ugly  looking  creature,  yet  I  must 
confess  very  obliging-  She  has  a  very  suspicious  coun- 
tenance &  I  am  very  afraid  of  her-  She  seems  to  be 
master,  as  well  as  mistress  &  storekeeper,  &  from  the 
great  noise  she  has  been  making  directly  under  me 
for  this  half  hour,  I  suspect  she  has  been  "stoning 
the  raisins  &  watering  the  rum"-  All  the  evening 
there  has  been  a  store  full  of  noisy  drunken  fellows, 
yet  Mr  Wolcott  could  not  be  persuaded  to  bring  in 

[5] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

but  a  small  part  of  the  baggage,  &  has  left  it  in  the 
waggon  before  the  door,  as  handy  as  possible-  Miss 
W's  trunk  is  in  the  bar-room  unlock'd  the  key  being 
broken  today-  it  contains  a  bag  of  money  of  her 
father's,  yet  she  could  not  persuade  him  to  bring  it  up 
stairs —  I  feel  so  uneasy  I  cannot  sleep  &  had  there- 
fore rather  write  than  not  this  hour-  some  one  has 
just  gone  below  stairs  after  being  as  I  suppos'd  in 
bed  this  some  time-  for  what  purpose  I  know  not- 
unless  to  go  to  our  trunks  or  waggon-  the  old  woman, 
(for  it  was  her  who  went  down,)  tells  me  I  must  put 

out  my  candle  so  good  night Tuesday  Morn — 

I  went  to  bed  last  night  with  fear  &  trembling,  &  feel 
truly  glad  to  wake  up  &  find  myself  alive  &  well-  if 
our  property  is  all  safe,  we  shall  have  double  cause  to 
be  thankful —  The  old  woman  kept  walking  about 
after  I  was  in  bed,  &  I  then  heard  her  in  close  confab 
with  her  husband  a  long  time —  Our  room  is  just 
large  enough  to  contain  a  bed  a  chair  &  a  very  small 
stand-  our  bed  has  one  brown  sheet  &  one  pillow-  the 
sheet  however  appear'd  to  be  clean,  which  was  more 
than  we  got  at  Nash's-  there  we  were  all  oblig'd  to 
sleep  in  the  same  room  without  curtains  or  any  other 
screen-  &  our  sheets  there  were  so  dirty  I  felt  afraid 
to  sleep  in  them-  We  were  not  much  in  favor  at  our 
first  arrival  there;  but  before  we  left  them,  they 
appear'd  quite  to  like  us-  &  I  don't  know  why  they 
should  not,  for  we  were  all  very  clever,  notwith- 
standing we  rode  in  a  waggon —  Mrs  Nash  said  she 
should  reckon  on't  to  see  us  again  ( Miss  W  &  me )  so 
I  told  her  that  in  3  years  she  might  expect  to  see  me- 

[6] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

She  said  I  should  never  come  back  alone,  that  I  would 
certainly  be  married  in  a  little  while-  but  I  am  now 
more  than  ever  determin'd  not  to  oblige  myself  to 
spend  my  days  there,  by  marrying  should  I  even  have 
an  opporty —  I  am  oblig'd  to  write  every  way  so 
you  must  not  wonder  at  the  badness  of  the  writing-  I 
am  now  in  bed  &  writing  in  my  lap-  Susan  has  gone 
to  see  if  our  baggage  is  in  order —  I  hear  the  old 
woman's  voice  talking  to  the  good  deacon-  &  an  "I 
beg  your  pardon"  comes  out  at  every  breath  al- 
most—  Oh  I  cannot  bear  to  see  her  again  she  is 
such  a  disgusting  object —  The  men  have  been 
swearing  &  laughing  in  the  store  under  me  this 
hour-  &  the  air  of  my  room  is  so  intolerable,  that  I 
must  quit  my  writing  to  go  in  search  of  some  that 
is  breathable-  I  don't  know  how  far  I  shall  be 
oblig'd  to  go  for  it-  but  there  is  none  very  near  I 
am  certain —  Having  a  few  moments  more  to 
spare  before  we  set  out,  with  my  book  still  in  my 
lap,  I  hasten  to  tell  you  we  found  everything  per- 
fectly safe,  &  I  believe  I  wrong'd  them  all  by  sus- 
picions—  The  house  by  day  light  looks  worse  then 
ever-  every  kind  of  thing  in  the  room  where  they 
live-  a  chicken  half  pick'd  hangs  over  the  door-  & 
pots,  kettles,  dirty  dishes,  potatoe  barrels-  &  every 
thing  else-  &  the  old  woman-  it  is  beyond  my  power 
to  describe  her-  but  she  &  her  husband  &  both  very 
kind  &  obliging-  it  is  as  much  as  a  body's  life  is 
worth  to  go  near  them —  The  air  has  already  had  a 
medicinal  effect  upon  me —  I  feel  as  if  I  had  taken 
an  emetic-  &  should  stay  till  night  I  most  certainly 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

should  be  oblig'd  to  take  my  bed,  &  that  would  be 
certain  death —  I  did  not  think  I  could  eat  in  the 
house-  but  I  did  not  dare  refuse-  the  good  deacon 
nor  his  wife  did  not  mind  it,  so  I  thought  I  must 
not —  The  old  creature  sits  by  eating,  &  we  are  just 
going  to  my  great  joy  so  good  bye,  good  bye  till  to 
night 

Tuesday  Noon—  Ferry  House  near 

State  Prison- 
It  has  been  very  cold  &  dusty  riding  to  day —  We 
have  met  with  no  adventure  yet,  of  any  kind —  We 
are  now  waiting  at  the  ferry  house  to  cross  the  river 
as  soon  as  wind  &  tide  serve-  The  white  waves  foam 
terribly  how  we  shall  get  across  I  know  not,  but  I 
am  in  great  fear-  If  we  drown  there  will  be  an  end 
of  my  journal 

Hobuck,  Wednesday  Morn- 

Buskirck's  Inn — 

After  waiting  3  or  4  hours  at  the  ferry  house,  we 
with  great  difficulty  cross'd  the  ferry  &  I,  standing 
brac'd  against  one  side  of  the  boat  involuntarily 
endeavouring  to  balance  it  with  my  weight  &  groan- 
ing at  every  fresh  breeze  as  I  watch'd  the  side  which 
almost  dipt  in  the  water-  &  the  ferrymen  swearing 
at  every  breath-  Mr,  Mrs  &  Miss  Wolcott  viewing 
the  city  and  vainly  wishing  they  had  improv'd  the 

time  of  our  delay  to  take  a  nearer  view At 

length  we   reach'd  this   shore   almost   frozen-  The 

[8] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

Ferry  is  a  mile  &  an  half  wide —  I  was  too  fatigued 
to  write  last  night  &  soon  after  we  came  retired  to 
bed-  We  were  again  oblig'd  all  to  sleep  in  one  room 
&  in  dirty  sheets-  but  pass'd  the  night  very  comfort- 
ably—  If  good  wishes  have  any  influence,  we  shall 
reach  our  journey's  end  in  peace-  for  we  obtain  them 
from  everyone —  The  morning  is  pleasant  &  we  are 

soon  to  ride Mrs  Buskirck  the  landlady,  I  should 

imagine  is  about  60  years  of  age  &  she  sits  by  with 
a  three  year  old  child  in  her  lap-  She  wears  a  long 
ear'd  cap  &  looks  so  old  I  thought  she  must  be 
Grandmother  till  I  enquir'd — 

Springfield-New  Jersey-  Pierson's  Inn— 

Wedy-PM  4  oclock- 

"What  is  every  body's  business  is  no  body's"  for 
instance-  it  is  nobody's  business  where  we  are  going, 
yet  every  body  enquires-  every  toll  gatherer  &  child 

that  sees  us I  am  almost  discouraged-  we  shall 

never  get  to  New  Connecticut  or  any  where  else,  at 
the  rate  we  go  on-  We  went  but  eleven  miles  yester- 
day &  15  to  day —  Our  Waggon  wants  repairing  & 
we  were  oblig'd  to  put  up  for  the  night  at  about  3 

oclock. I  think  the  country  so  far,  much  pleas- 

anter  than  any  part  of  Connecticut  we  pass'd  thro'- 
but  the  Turnpike  roads  are  not  half  as  good-  The 
Deacon  &  his  family  complain  most  bitterly  of  the 
gates  &  toll  bridges-  tho'  the  former  is  very  good- 
natur'd  with  his  complaints —  Also  the  tavern  ex- 
penses are  a  great  trouble-  As  I  said  before  I  will 
never  go  with  a  Deacon  again-  for  we  go  so  slow  & 

[9] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

so  cheap,  that  I  am  almost  tir'd  to  death.  The 
horses  walk,  walk  hour  after  hour  while  Mr  W  sits 
reckoning  his  expenses  &  forgetting  to  drive  till  some 
of  us  ask  when  we  shall  get  there  ?-  then  he  remem- 
bers the  longer  we  are  on  the  road  the  more  expen- 
sive it  will  be,  &  whips  up  his  horses — and  when 
Erastus  the  son,  drives,  we  go  still  slower  for  fear 
of  hurting  the  horses —  Since  I  left  you  I  have  con- 
ceived such  an  aversion  for  Doctors  &  the  words, 
expense,  expensive,  cheap  &  expect,  that  I  do  not 
desire  ever  to  see  the  one  (at  least  to  need  them)  or 
hear  the  others  again,  in  my  life —  I  have  just  found 
out  that  Elizabeth  Town  is  but  5  miles  off  &  have 
been  to  the  landlord  to  enquire  if  I  cannot  possibly 
get  there  &  he  encourages  me  a  little,  I  cannot  write 
more  till  I  am  certain-  Oh  if  I  can  but  see  my 
brother!  After  a  long  crying  spell,  I  once  more  take 
up  my  pen  to  tell  you  I  cannot  go,-  there  is  no  chair 
or  side  saddle  to  be  got,  &  I  will,  by  supposing  him 
at  New  York,  try  to  content  myself-  to  describe  my 
disappointment  would  be  impossible — it  is  such  an 
agravation  of  my  pain,  to  know  myself  so  near  & 
then  not  see  him —  I  have  the  greater  part  of  the 
time  till  now,  felt  in  better  spirits  than  I  expected- 

my  journal  has  been  of  use  to  me  in  that  respect 

I  did  not  know  but  I  should  meet  with  the  same  fate 
that  a  cousin  of  Mr  Hall's  did,  who  like  me,  was 
journeying  to  a  new,  if  not  a  western  country-  She 
was  married  on  her  way  &  prevented  from  proceed- 
ing to  her  journey's  end-  There  was  a  man  to  day 
in  Camptown  where  we  stopt  to  eat,  not  oats  but 

[10] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

gingerbread,  who  enquired,  or  rather  expected  we 
were  going  to  the  Hio-  we  told  him  yes  &  he  at 
once  concluded  it  was  to  get  husbands-  He  said  win- 
ter was  coming  on  &  he  wanted  a  wife  &  believ'd  he 
must  go  there  to  get  him  one-  I  concluded  of  course 
the  next  thing  would  be,  a  proposal  to  Miss  W  or 
me  to  stay  behind  to  save  trouble  for  us  both;  but 
nothing  would  suit  him  but  a  rich  widow,  so  our 
hopes  were  soon  at  an  end-  Disappointment  is  the 
lot  of  man  &  we  may  as  well  bear  them  with  a  good 
grace-  this  thought  restrain'd  my  tears  at  that  time, 
but  has  not  been  able  to  since —  What  shall  I  do? 
My  companions  say  they  shall  insist  upon  seeing  my 
journal  &  I  certainly  will  not  show  it  to  them,  so  I 
told  them  I  would  bring  it  with  me  the  first  time  I 
came  to  Henshaw  (the  place  where  they  live)  & 
read  it  to  them;  but  I  shall  do  my  utmost  to  send  it 
to  you  before  I  go-  that  would  be  a  sufficient  excuse 
for  not  performing  my  promise  which  must  be  con- 
ditional—  I  will  not  insist  upon  your  reading  this 
thro'  my  dear  Elizabeth  &  I  suspect  by  this  time  you 
feel  quite  willing  to  leave  it  unread  further-  I  wish 
I  could  make  it  more  interesting —  I  write  just  as  I 
feel  &  think  at  the  moment  &  I  feel  as  much  in  haste 
to  write  every  thing  that  occurs,  as  if  you  could  know 
it  the  moment  it  was  written-  I  must  now  leave  you 
to  write  to  my  brother,  for  if  I  cannot  see  him  I 
will  at  least  write  him-  I  cannot  bear  the  idea  of 
leaving  the  state  without  once  more  seeing  him —  I 
hope  next  to  write  you  from  30  miles  hence  at  least- 
-Poor  Susan  feels  worse  to  night  than  me,  &  Mrs 

[ii] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

Wolcott  to  cheer  us,  tells  us  what  we  have  yet  to 
expect-  this  you  may  be  sure  has  the  desir'd  effect  & 
raises  our  spirits  at  once — 

Friday  morn-  Chester  N  J. 

We  left  Springfield  yesterday  about  nine  oclock  & 

came  on  to  Chester  about  22  miles  from  Springd 

Patience  &  perseverance  will  get  us  to  N  C  in  time- 
but  I  fear  we  shall  winter  on  our  way  there,  for 
instead  of  four  weeks,  I  fear  we  shall  be  four  times 

four We  found  an  excellent  tavern  here  com- 

par'd  with  any  we  have  yet  found,  &  we  had  for  the 
first  time  clean  sheets  to  sleep  in-  We  pass'd  thro' 
Morristown  yesterday,  &  3.  small  villages-  one 
called  Chatham  I  do  not  know  the  names  of  the 
others —  It  is  very  hilly  in  N  Jersey,  &  what  is  very 
strange,  we  appear  almost  always  to  be  going  up  hill, 
but  like  the  squirrel,  never  rise  2  inches  higher-  The 
hills  look  very  handsomely  at  a  little  distance,-  but 

none  of  them  are  very  high Mr  &  Mrs  Wolcott, 

after  telling  us  every  thing  dreadful,  they  could  think 
of,  began  encouraging  us  by  changing  sides  &  relating 
the  good  as  well  as  the  bad-  They  are  sure  I  shall 
like  Warren  better  than  I  expect  &  think  I  shall 
not  regret  going  in  the  least The  weather  yes- 
terday was  very  pleasant,  &  is  this  morning  also-  We 
wish  to  reach  Easton  to  day,  but  I  am  sure  we  shall 
not,  for  it  is  32  miles  distant-  5  or  600  hundred  miles 
appears  like  a  short  journey  to  me  now-  indeed  I 
feel  as  if  I  could  go  almost  any  distance-  My  cour- 
age &  spirits  &  both  very  good — one  week  is  already 

[12] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

gone  of  the  4 —  I  wish  I  could  fly  back  to  you  a  few 
minutes  while  we  are  waiting 

Mansfield-N  J-Sat-morn  October  27- 

We  yesterday  travell'd  the  worst  road  you  can 
imagine-  over  mountains  &  thro'  vallies-  We  have 
not  I  believe,  had  20  rods  of  level  ground  the  whole 
day-  and  the  road  some  part  of  it  so  intolerably  bad 
on  every  account,  so  rocky  &  so  gullied,  as  to  be 
almost  impassable-  15  miles  this  side  Morristown, 
we  cross'd  a  mountain  call'd  Schyler  or  something 
like  it-  We  walk'd  up  it,  &  M™  W  told  us  it  was 
a  little  like  some  of  the  mountains  only  not  half 
so  bad — indeed  every  difficulty  we  meet  with  is 
compar'd  to  something  worse  that  we  have  yet  to 
expect-  We  found  a  house  built  in  the  heart  of  the 
mountain  near  some  springs-  in  a  romantic  place- 
Whether  the  springs  are  medicinal  or  not,  I  do  not 
know-  but  I  suspect  they  are,  &  that  the  house  is 
built  for  the  accommodation  of  those  who  go  to 
them-  for  no  human  creature,  I  am  sure,  would  wish 
to  live  there-  Opposite  the  house  are  stairs  on  the 
side  of  the  mountain  &  a  small  house  resembling  a 
bathing  house,  at  the  head  of  them —  Soon  after  we 
cross'd  the  mountain,  we  took  a  wrong  road,  owing 
to  the  neglect  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  erect  guide 
boards,  &  to  some  awkward  directions  given —  This 
gave  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  for  we  were  oblig'd 
in  order  to  get  right  again,  to  go  across  a  field  where 
the  stones  were  so  large  &  so  thick  that  we  scarcely 
touch'd  the  ground  the  whole  distance-  At  last  the 

[13] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

road  seem'd  to  end  in  a  hogs  pen,  but  we  found  it 
possible  to  get  round  it,  &  once  more  found  ourselves 
right  again-  We  met  very  few  people,  yet  the  road 
seem'd  to  have  been  a  great  deal  travelled-  One 
young  man  came  along  &  caus'd  us  some  diversion, 
for  he  eyed  us  very  closely  &  then  enter'd  into  con- 
versation with  Mr  W  who  was  walking  a  little  for- 
ward- He  told  him  he  should  himself  set  out  next 
week  for  Pittsburg-  &  we  expect  to  see  him  again 
before  we  get  there —  Erastus  enquir'd  the  road  of 
him  &  he  said  we  must  go  the  same  way  he  did;  so 
we  follow'd  on  till  we  put  up  for  the  night;  he  walk- 
ing his  horse  all  the  way  &  looking  back  at  the  wag- 
gon- As  soon  as  we  came  to  the  inn  he  sat  on  his 
horse  at  the  door  till  he  saw  us  all  quietly  seated  in 
the  house  &  then  rode  off-  Which  of  us  made  a  con- 
quest I  know  not,  but  I  am  sure  one  of  us  did We 

have  pass'd  thro'  but  2  towns  in  N  J-  but  several 
small  villages-  Dutch  valley,  between  some  high  hills 
&  the  Mountain-  Batestown,  where  we  stopt  to  bait- 
Si  some  others-  all  too  small  to  deserve  a  name-  At 
last  we  stopt  at  Mansfield  at  an  Inn  kept  by  Philip 
fits  (a  little  f).  We  found  it  kept  by  2  young 
women,  whom  I  thought  amazoons-  for  they  swore 
&  flew  about  "like  witches"  they  talk  &  laugh'd 
about  their  sparks  &c  &c  till  it  made  us  laugh  so  as 
almost  to  affront  them-  There  was  a  young  woman 
visiting  them  who  reminded  me  of  Lady  Di  Spanker- 
for  sprung  from  the  ground  to  her  horse  with  as 
much  agility  as  that  Lady  could  have  done —  They 
all  took  their  pipes  before  tea one  of  them  ap- 

[14] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

pears  to  be  very  unhappy-  I  believe  she  has  a  very 
cross  husband  if  she  is  married-  She  has  a  baby 
&  a  pretty  one —  Their  manners  soften'd  down 
after  a  while  &  the  appear  to  be  obliging  &  good 
natur'd 

Pennsylvania-  Saturday  eve-  2  miles 

from  Bethlehem-  Hanover-  Oct  27th 

Before  I  write  you  anything  I  will  tell  you  where 
&  how  we  are-  We  are  at  a  dutch  tavern  almost 
crazy-  In  one  corner  of  the  room  are  a  set  of  dutch- 
men  talking  singin  &  laughing  in  dutch  so  loud,  that 
my  brain  is  almost  turn'd—  they  one  moment  catch  up 
a  fiddle  &  I  expect  soon  to  be  pulled  up  to  dance-  I 
am  so  afraid  of  them  I  dare  hardly  stay  in  the  house 
one  night;  much  less  over  the  sabbath-  I  cannot 
write  so  good  night — 

Sunday  Morn- 

I  have  hesitated  a  long  time  whether  I  ought  to 
write  or  not,  &  have  at  length  concluded  I  may  as 
well  write  as  anything  else,  for  I  cannot  read  or 
listen  to  Deacon  W  who  is  reading-  for  I  am  almost 
distracted.  We  have  determin'd  (or  rather  Mr  W 
has  &  we  must  do  as  he  says)  to  spend  the  Sabbath 
among  these  wicked  wretches-  It  would  not  be 
against  my  conscience  to  ride  to  day  rather  than  stay 
here,  for  we  can  do  no  good  &  get  none-  &  how  much 
harm  they  may  do  us  I  know  not-  but  they  look  as 
if  they  had  sufficient  inclination  to  do  us  evil — 

[15] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

Sunday  eve-  Sundown— 

I  can  wait  no  longer  to  write  you,  for  I  have  a 
great  deal  to  say-  I  should  not  have  thought  it  pos- 
sible to  pass  a  Sabbath  in  our  country  among  such  a 
dissolute  vicious  set  of  wretches  as  we  are  now 
among — I  believe  at  least  50  dutchmen  have  been 
here  to  day  to  smoke,  drink,  swear,  pitch  cents, 
almost  dance,  laugh  &  talk  dutch  &  stare  at  us-  They 
come  in,  in  droves  young  &  old-  black  &  white-  wom- 
en &  children-  It  is  dreadful  to  see  so  many  people 
that  you  cannot  speak  to  or  understand —  They  are 
all  high  dutch,  but  I  hope  not  a  true  specimen  of  the 
Pennsylvanians  generally —  Just  as  we  set  down  to 
tea,  in  came  a  dozen  or  two  of  women,  each  with  a 
child  in  her  arms,  &  stood  round  the  room-  I  did  not 
know  but  they  had  come  in  a  body  to  claim  me  as  one 
of  their  kin,  for  they  all  resemble  me-  but  as  they 
said  nothing  to  me,  I  concluded  they  came  to  see  us 
Yankees,  as  they  would  a  learned  pig —  The 
women  dress  in  striped  linsey  woolsey  petticoats  & 
short  gowns  not  6  inches  in  length-  they  look  very 
strangely-  The  men  dress  much  better-  they  put  on 
their  best  cloaths  on  Sunday,  which  I  suppose  is  their 
only  holiday,  &  "keep  it  up"  as  they  call  it —  A 
stage  came  on  from  Bethlehem  &  stopt  here,  with  2 
girls  &  a  well  dress'd  fellow  who  sat  between  them 
an  arm  round  each —  They  were  probably  going  to 
the  next  town  to  a  dance  or  a  frolic  of  some  kind- 
for  the  driver,  who  was  very  familiar  with  them,  said 
he  felt  just  right  for  a  frolic —  I  suspect  more  liquor 

[16] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

has  been  sold  to  day  than  all  the  week  besides —  The 
children  have  been  calling  us  Yankees  (which  is  the 
only  english  word  they  can  speak)  all  day  long- 
Whether  it  was  meant  as  a  term  of  derision  or  not,  I 
neither  know  nor  care-  of  this  I  am  sure,  they  cannot 
feel  more  contempt  for  me  than  I  do  for  them  ;-tho' 
I  most  sincerely  pity  their  ignorance  &  folly-  There 
seems  to  be  no  hope  of  their  improvement  as  they 
will  not  attend  to  any  means-  After  saying  so 
much  about  the  people,  I  will  describe  our  yester- 
day's ride-  but  first  I  will  describe  our  last  nights 
lodging-  Susan  &  me  ask'd  to  go  to  bed-  &  Mrs  W 
spoke  to  Mr  Riker  the  landlord- (for  no  woman  was 
visible)-  So  he  took  up  a  candle  to  light  us  &  we 
ask'd  Mrs  W  to  go  up  with  us,  for  we  did  not  dare 
go  alone-  when  we  got  into  a  room  he  went  to  the 
bed  &  open'd  it  for  us,  while  we  were  almost  dying 
with  laughter,  &  then  stood  waiting  with  the  candle 
for  us  to  get  into  bed-  but  Mrs  W-  as  soon  as  she 
could  speak,  told  him  she  would  wait  &  bring  down 
the  candle  &  he  then  left  us-  I  never  laugh'd  so  heart- 
ily in  my  life-  Our  bed  to  sleep  on  was  straw,  &  then 
a  feather  bed  for  covering-  The  pillows  contain'd 
nearly  a  single  handful  of  feathers,  &  were  cover'd 
with  the  most  curious  &  dirty  patchwork,  I  ever  saw- 
We  had  one  bedquilt  &  one  sheet-  I  did  not  undress 
at  all,  for  I  expected  dutchmen  in  every  moment  & 
you  may  suppose  slept  very  comfortably  in  that  ex- 
pectation- -  Mr  &  M"  W,  &  another  woman  slept  in 
the  same  room-  When  the  latter  came  to  bed,  the 
man  came  in  &  open'd  her  bed  also,  after  we  were  all 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

in  bed  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  I  was  awaken'd  by 
the  entrance  of  three  dutchmen,  who  were  in  search 
of  a  bed-  I  was  almost  frightened  to  death-  but  Mr 
W  at  length  heard  &  stopt  them  before  they  had 
quite  reach'd  our  bed-  Before  we  were  dress'd  the 
men  were  at  the  door-  which  could  not  fasten,  look- 
ing at  us-  I  think  wild  Indians  will  be  less  terrible  to 
me,  than  these  creatures-  Nothing  vexes  me  more 
than  to  see  them  set  &  look  at  us  &  talk  in  dutch  and 
laugh —  Now  for  our  ride-  After  we  left  Mansfield, 
we  cross'd  the  longest  hills,  and  the  worst  road,  I 
ever  saw-  two  or  three  times  after  riding  a  little  dis- 
tance on  turnpike,  we  found  it  fenced  across  &  were 
oblig'd  to  turn  into  a  wood  where  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  proceed-  large  trees  were  across,  not 
the  road  for  there  was  none,  but  the  only  place  we 
could  possibly  ride-  It  appear'd  to  me,  we  had  come 
to  an  end  of  the  habitable  part  of  the  globe-  but  all 
these  difficulties  were  at  last  surmounted,  &  we 
reach'd  the  Delaware-  The  river  where  it  is  cross'd, 
is  much  smaller  than  I  suppos'd-  The  bridge  over 
it  is  elegant  I  think —  It  is  covered  &  has  16  windows 
each  side —  As  soon  as  we  pass'd  the  bridge,  we 
enter'd  Easton,  the  first  town  in  Pennsylvania-  It 
is  a  small  but  pleasant  town-  the  houses  are  chiefly 
small,  &  built  of  stone-  very  near  together-  The 
meeting  house,  Bank,  &  I  think,  market,  are  all  of 
the  same  description-  There  are  a  few  very  hand- 
some brick  houses,  &  some  wooden  buildings — 
From  Easton,  we  came  to  Bethlehem,  which  is  12 
miles  distant  from  it-  Mr  W.  went  a  mile  out  of  his 

[18] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

way,  that  we  might  see  the  town-  It  contains  almost 
entirely  dutch  people —  The  houses  there  are  nearly 
all  stone-  but  like  Easton  it  contains  some  pretty 
brick  houses-  It  has  not  half  as  many  stores  as 
Easton The  meeting  house  is  a  curious  build- 
ing- it  looks  like  a  castle-  I  suppose  it  is  stone,-  the 
outside  is  plaister'd-  We  left  our  waggon  to  view 
the  town-  we  did  not  know  whether  the  building  was 
a  church  or  the  moravian  school,  so  we  enquir'd  of 
2  or  3  men  who  only  answer'd  in  dutch-  Mr  &  Mrs 
W  were  purchasing  bread,  &  Susan  &  I  walk'd  on  to 
enquire-  we  next  saw  a  little  boy  on  horseback,  &  he 
could  only  say  "me  cannot  english"  but  he  I  believe, 
spoke  to  another,  for  a  very  pretty  boy  came  near 
us  &  bow'd  &  expecting  us  to  speak,  which  we  soon 
did;  &  he  pointed  out  the  school  &  explained  the 
different  buildings  to  us  as  well  as  he  was  able;  but 
we  found  it  difficult  to  understand  him,  for  he  could 
but  just  "english"-  We  felt  very  much  oblig'd  to  him, 
though  we  neglected  to  tell  him  so-  He  is  the  only 
polite  dutchman  small  or  great,  we  have  yet  seen; 
&  I  am  unwilling  to  suppose  him  a  dutchman.  The 
school  buildings  are  low,  long  stone  houses-  the  stone 
houses  are  not  at  all  handsome-  but  rather  ugly — 
Where  we  stopt  to  bait  yesterday,  we  found  another 
waggon  containing  a  widow  Jackson,  her  2  sons  & 
a  daughter  in  law-  They  enquir'd  where  we  going 
&  told  us  they  were  going  to  the  same  place  &  imme- 
diately join'd  our  party-  We  were  sorry  as  we  did 
not  wish  an  addition  to  our  party,  &  thought  by  not 
travvelling  on  Sunday  we  should  lose  their  company, 

[19] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

but  rather  than  lose  ours,  they  wait  till  monday- 
They  are  very  clever  people  apparently,  &  we  may 
possibly  be  benefited  by  them  before  we  end  our 
journey — We  now  find  the  benefit  of  having  our  own 
provision-  for  I  would  not  eat  anything  we  could  get 
here. 

Monday  morn-October  29- 

It  rains  &  we  shall  have  a  dismal  day  I  am  afraid- 
Mr  W's  harness  last  night  was  very  much  injur'd  by 
being  chew'd  to  pieces  by  a  cow-  I  have  broken  my 
parasol  handle  a  little,  but  it  will  not  much  injure  it- 
I  have  a  bad  cold  to  day-  which  I  know  not  how  I 
have  taken-  I  more  than  ever  wish  to  reach  War- 
ren— 

Pennsylvania-  Monday-eve-  A  Dutchman's 

inn-  I  dont  know  where.    Palks  County- 

or  some  thing  like  it — 

We  have  only  pass'd  thro'  2  small  towns  to  day, 
Allenstown  &  Kluztown-  The  former  is  about  3 
miles  from  Hannover,  where  we  spent  the  sabbath, 
&  6  from  Bethlehem-  Before  we  enter'd  the  town, 
we  cross'd  the  Lehi  in  2  places-  It  was  not  deep,  & 
we  forded  it  to  save  time  &  expence-  It  runs  I  believe 
through  Bethlehem  or  at  the  side  of  it  &  is  a  very 
small  river-  Allenstown  is  not  a  pleasant  place- 
The  houses  are  almost  all  stone-  It  contains  2  small 
stone  churches-  We  went  into  a  store,  where  I 
bought  me  a  coarse  tooth  comb  for  15  cents-  I  should 
never  get  accustom'd  to  the  Pensylvania  currency- 

[20] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

It  diverts  me  to  hear  them  talk  of  their  fippenny 
bits  (as  they  pronounce  it)  &  their  eleven  penny 
bits —  Kluztown  is  but  a  few  miles  from  Allen- 
town-  It  has  but  one  short  street  which  is  very 
thickly  built  with  Stone  &  log  houses —  It  is  rather 
a  dirty  street  &  not  more  pleasant  than  the  others 
Stone  is  used  for  everything  in  this  state-  The  barns 
&  houses  are  almost  entirely  built  of  it-  I  imagine 
the  dutch  pride  themselves  on  building  good  barns, 
for  a  great  many  of  them  are  very  elegant-  they  are 
3  &  4  stories  high,  have  windows  &  one  or  2.  I  saw 
with  blinds-  They  are  larger  &  handsomer  than 
most  of  the  houses-  The  dutch  women  are  all  out 
as  we  pass,  dressing  flax,  picking  up  apples  &c  &c- 
The  dress  of  the  women  grows  worse  &  worse- 
We  find  them  now  with  very  short  petticoats,  no 
short  gown  &  barefoot —  The  country  is  not 
pleasant,  at  least  does  not  appear  so  as  we  ride  thro' 
it  at  all-  I  should  think  the  land  must  be  good  as  we 
see  large  fields  of  grain  very  frequently-  There  does 
not  appear  to  be  as  much  fruit  as  in  N  Y  &  N  J — 
We  saw  immense  quantities  of  apples  in  each  of 
those  states,  particularly  N  J-  there  would  be  thou- 
sands of  bushels  at  the  cider  presses,  &  still  the  trees 
would  be  borne  down  with  them —  The  roads  in  this 
state  are  pretty  good,  where,  dame  Nature  has  not 
undertaken  to  pave  them-  but  she  has  so  much  other 
business  on  hand  that  she  has  never  learn'd  to  pave, 
&  makes  a  wretched  hand  at  it-  I  wish  she  could  be 
persuaded  to  leave  it  to  Art  for  the  future;  for  we 
are  very  great  sufferers  for  her  work-  It  is  quite 

[21] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

amusing  to  see  the  variety  of  paintings  on  the  inn- 
keeper's signs-  I  saw  one  in  N  J  with  Thos  Jeff'ns 
head  &  shoulders  &  his  name  above  it-  to  day  I  saw 
Gen  G  Washington-  his  name  underneath-  Gen  Put- 
nam riding  down  the  steps  at  Horseneck-  one  sign 
was  merely  3  little  kegs  hanging  down  one  after  the 
other-  They  have  the  sun  rising,  setting,  &  at  Meri- 
dian, here  a  full  moon,  a  new  moon,  the  moon  & 
7  stars  around  her,  the  Lion  &  Unicorn  "fighting 
&c",  &  every  thing  else  that  a  dutchman  has  ever 
seen  or  heard  of-  I  do  not  believe  one  of  them  has 

wit  enough  to  invent  any  thing,  even  for  a  sign 

Several  of  these  creatures  sit  by  Jabbering  dutch  so 
fast,  that  my  brain  is  turn'd  &  my  thoughts  dis- 
tracted, &  I  wonder  I  have  been  able  to  write  a 
word-  If  you  find  it  unintelligible  you  must  not  won- 
der or  blame  me-  A  dozen  will  talk  at  once  &  it  is 
really  intolerable-  I  wish  Uncle  Porter  was  here- 
How  can  I  live  among  them  3  weeks?  We  have 
come  about  24  miles  to  day-  it  rain'd  a  very  little 
this  morning  &  the  rest  of  the  day  has  been  quite 
pleasant  tho'  somewhat  cold-  Tomorrow  we  pass 
thro'  Reading — 

Wednesday  Octber  3ist  Highdleburg-Penn- 

We  pass'd  through  Reading  yesterday  which  is 
one  of  the  largest  &  prettiest  towns  I  have  seen- 
We  stopt  about  2  hours  in  the  town,  &  I  improved 
my  time  in  walking  about  to  see  it-  I  went  into  the 
stores  enquiring  for  a  scissor  case-  Almost  every 
one  could  talk  english-  but  I  believe  the  greatest  part 

[22] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

of  them  were  dutch  people-  As  soon  as  we  left  Read- 
ing, we  cross'd  the  Schuylkill-  It  was  not  deeper  than 
the  Lehi,  &  we  rode  thro'  it  in  our  waggon.  A 
bridge  was  begun  over  it,  but  the  man  broke  &  was 
unable  to  finish  it-  It  would  have  been  an  excellent 
one  had  it  been  completed-  It  is  now  grown  over 
with  grass  &  serves  as  a  walk  for  the  ladies —  We 
put  up  for  the  night  at  Leonard  Shaver's  tavern- 
He  is  a  dutchman,  but  has  one  of  the  most  agree- 
able women  for  his  wife  I  have  seen  in  this  State- 
I  was  extremely  tir'd  when  we  stopt,  &  went  imme- 
diately to  bed  after  tea-  &  for  the  first  time  for  a 
long  while,  undress'd  me  &  had  a  comfortable  nights 
rest-  We  are  oblig'd  to  sleep  every  &  any  way—  at 

most  of  the  inns  now My  companions  were  all 

disturb'd  by  the  waggoners  who  put  up  here  &  were 
all  night  in  the  room  below  us,  eating,  drinking, 
talking,  laughing  &  swearing-  Poor  Mr  W-  was  so 
disturb'd  that  he  is  not  well  this  morning,  &  what  is 
more  unpleasant  to  us,  is  not  good  natur'd,  &  Mrs 
W  has  been  urging  him  this  half  hour,  to  eat  some 
breakfast-  he  would  only  answer  "I  shan't  eat  any"- 
but  at  length  swallow'd  some  in  sullen  silence-  but  is 
in  a  different  way  preparing  to  ride —  If  I  were 
going  to  be  married  I  would  give  my  intended,  a  gen- 
tle emetic,  or  some  such  thing  to  see  how  he  would 
bear  being  sick  a  little-  for  I  could  not  coax  a  hus- 
band as  I  would  a  child,  only  because  he  was  a  little 
sick  &  a  great  deal  cross-  I  trust  I  shall  never  have 
the  trial-  I  am  sure  I  should  never  bear  it  with  tem- 
per &  patience.  Mr  W  is  I  believe  a  very  pious  good 

[23] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

man,  but  not  naturally  pleasant  temper'd-  religion 
however,  has  corrected  it  in  a  great  degree,  but  not 
wholly  overcome  it-  Mrs  W-  is  an  amiable  sweet 
temper'd  woman,  as  I  ever  saw;  the  more  I  know 
her,  the  better  I  love  her-  Susan  is  a  charming  girl- 
but  Erastus  is  rather  an  obstinate  boy-  he  feels  supe- 
riour  to  his  father  &  every  one  else,  in  wisdom — Mrs 
Jackson  is  a  clever  woman  I  believe,  but  I  have  a 
prejudice  against  her  which  I  cannot  overcome-  She 
is  very  inquisitive  and  very  communicative-  She 
resembles  Moll  Lyman  or  rather  crazy  Moll  of 
Northampton  in  her  looks-  She  has  considerable 
property  &  feels  it  very  sensibly-  Her  youngest  son 
is  almost  eighteen  &  has  his  wife  with  him,  who  is 
not  quite  as  old-  They  have  been  married  2  months, 
&  are  a  most  loving  couple-  I  cannot  help  thinking 
whenever  I  see  them  together,  of  "love  I  Sophia?" 
&c —  Her  ham^'  is  Eliza  &  his,  John —  The  other 
son  is  a  very  obliging  but  not  a  very  polish'd  young 
man-  I  like  them  all  better  than  at  first 

Wednesday  Eve-  Miller's  town-  Penn-  Oct~3i8t 

We  have  come  24  miles  to  day,  &  just  begin  to 
shorten  the  distance  between  Pittsburgh  &  us,  &  to 
increase  it  between  Phildelphy  (as  the  dutchmen  call 
it,)  &  us-  It  has  for  a  long  time  been  250  miles  to 
Pittsg  &  60  to  Philhia-  but  is  now  218  to  one  &  more 
than  80  to  the  other —  It  began  snowing  this  morn- 
ing which  rendered  our  ride  more  unpleasant  than 
before-  Mr  W  has  continued  just  as  he  was  in  the 
morning-  scarcely  a  word  has  been  spoken  by  any  of 

[24] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

us-  I  never  felt  more  low  spirited  &  discouraged  in 
my  life-  We  have  pass'd  through  2  little  towns  to 
day-  Moyerstown  &  the  other  I  don't  know  the  name 
of-  We  also  pass'd  thro  Lebanon  which  appear'd  to 
be  a  town  of  considerable  size  &  pleasant-  we  did  not 
stop  at  all  in  it-  The  other  towns  were  merely  one 
short  dirty  street-  this  town  is  one  street  only,  but 
a  tolerably  pretty  one-  There  are  a  number  of  good 
houses  in  it-  We  have  once  more  got  among  people 
of  our  own  nation  &  language-  &  they  appear  very 
clever — 

Harrisburg-  P-  Thursday-  Eve- 

November-ist  1810- 

It  has  been  snowing  fast  all  the  afternoon  &  we 
found  it  very  difficult  travelling  &  were  oblig'd  to 
put  up  just  in  the  edge  of  the  town—It  was  Mr  W's 
intention  to  cross  the  Susquehannah  which  is  the 
other  side  the  town-  we  shall  not  pass  thro'  it-  We 
cross'd  the  Sweet  Arrow,  a  little  river  about  8  miles 
from  the  Susquehannah- we  cross'd  it  in  our  waggon- 
Mr  Jeremiah  Rees  is  our  landlord-  his  wife  is  sick 
with  a  fever  arising  from  the  Hives  at  first-  He  has 
a  sister  who  seems  to  take  the  direction  of  the  female 
part  of  the  business-  She  is  a  strange  creature- 
Friday  morn-  I  have  been  very  much  diverted  at 
hearing  some  part  of  her  history  which  she  told  last 
night,  after  drinking  a  little  too  much  I  suppose- 
She  says  she  has  property  if  she  is  not  married-  she 
had  her  fortune  told  a  short  time  since-  &  was  told  to 

[25] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

think  of  a  certain  gentleman  living  about  300  miles 
off-  which  she  did,  &  thought  so  hard  that  a  drop  of 
blood  fell  from  her  nose-  She  was  telling  Mrs  Jack- 
son of  this  &  ask'd  how  far  she  was  going-  being  told 
about  300  miles-  well  she  said  she  really  believ'd  her 
oldest  son  was  the  young  man  she  was  to  have,  for 
he  looks  just  like  the  one  she  thought  of-  The  young 

man  will  be  quite  flatter'd  no  doubt We  are 

all  in  tolerably  good  spirits  notwithstanding  we  are 
unable  to  proceed  on  our  journey-  It  still  contin- 
ues snowing,  &  we  shall  stay  here  till  tomorrow 
morning  &  how  much  longer  I  do  not  know —  There 
was  a  cockfighting  in  the  house  last  night  &  a  great 
many  of  the  "finest  young  men  in  the  town"  got  so 
intoxicated  as  to  be  unable  to  get  home  without 
assistance M.  V.  D. 

Sunday  eve-  East  pensboro'  township-  P- 

We  left  Mr  Rees'  yesterday  ten  oclock-  &  after 
waiting  some  time  at  the  ferry  house,  cross'd  the 
Susquehanna  with  considerable  difficulty-  The  river 
is  a  mile  wide  &  so  shallow  that  the  boat  would 
scrape  across  the  large  stones  so  as  almost  to  prevent 
it  from  proceeding-  We  only  came  8  miles-  the  riding 
was  awful-  &  the  weather  so  cold  that  I  thought  I 
should  perish  riding  4  miles-  This  will  do  well  for 
us,  8  miles  in  3  days-  We  were  to  have  seen  the 
mountains  yesterday,  but  are  50  miles  from  it —  I 
should  like  to  have  staid  at  Mr  Rees'  till  we  reach 
home  if  it  was  possible,  notwithstanding  we  had  like 
to  have  all  lost  our  characters  there-  While  we  were 

[26] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

at  breakfast,  the  black  wench  miss'd  nearly  4  dollars 
of  money,  &  very  impudently  accused  us  with  taking 
it,  in  rather  an  indirect  manner —  I  felt  at  first  very 
angry,  but  anger  soon  gave  place  to  pity  for  the  poor 
girls  loss-  It  was  money  she  had  been  saving  for  a 
long  time  that  she  might  get  enough  to  buy  her  a 
dress-  but  she  left  it  about  very  carelessly  in  the 
closet  where  any  one  might  have  taken  it  who  was  so 
disposed —  But  had  I  been  inclined  to  steal,  I  could 
not  have  stolen  from  a  poor  black  girl-  I  would 
rather  have  given  her  as  much-  I  never  felt  so  queerly 
in  my  life-  To  be  suspected  of  theft  was  so  new  &  un- 
expected to  me,  that  I  was  wholly  unprepar'd  for 
it —  We  went  to  Mr  Rees  &  begg'd  him  to  take  some 
method  to  satisfy  the  girl  we  were  innocent  but  we 
could  not  prevail  on  him  to,  tho'  we  really  wish'd  it- 
He  gave  the  girl  a  severe  scolding  &  desir'd  us  not 
to  remember  it  against  them,  or  to  suffer  ourselves 
to  be  made  a  moment  uneasy  by  it,  &  both  himself 
and  Mrs  Rees  were  extremely  sorry  any  thing  of  the 
kind  had  happen'd-  The  girl  continued  crying  & 
assuring  us  her  money  had  been  safe  all  summer  till 
then  &  nobody  had  been  near  it  but  us-  I,  nor  any  of 
us  had  any  doubt  that  the  landlord's  sister,  whom  I 
before  mention'd,  had  taken  it-  She  had  the  day 
before  2  or  3  ninepences  in  her  shoes,  &  when  Mr 
W  ventur'd  to  ask  her  if  she  had  not  taken  it  to  tease 
the  wench,  she  swore  by  every  thing  she  had  not 
touch'd  it-  She  said  it  was  fashionable  for  ladies  to 
carry  money  in  their  shoes-  I  suppose  she  had  long 
been  eyeing  it,  &  thought  then  would  be  a  good  op- 


A  JOURNEJ  TO  OHIO 

per*y  to  take  it  but  did  not  intend  ft  should  be  discov^ 
er'd  till  we  were  gone  §c  unable  to  defend  ourselves 
from  the  charge  which '  she  then  meant  to  make 
against  us —  She  is  so  worthless  .a  character  in  every 
respect,  that  I  atn  certain  .she  could  be  guilty  of  steal- 
ing upon  occasion —  She.  was  very  fond  of  telling 
what  ladies,  like  her  &  me,  did  &'  wore —  She  is  ber 
tween  30  &  40  yrs  of  age-  It  was  an  honour  I  was  not 
very  tenacious  of,  to  be  rank'd  with  her  ladyship-- 
The  money  was  not  found  before  we  left  there  &  I 
suppose  the  poor  girl  feels  as  certain  some  one  of  us 
have  it,  as  that  she  has  lost  it-  Should  I  ever,  return 
this  way  I  would  call  &  enquire  about  it-  I  hope  it 
will  be  found  with  Babby  (for that  is  the  creatures 
name)  — 

We  put  up  for  the  Sabbath  at  a  tavern  where  none 
but  the  servants  deign  -to  look  at  us-  When  I  am 
with  such  people,  my  proud  spirit  rises  &  I  feel  super- 
ior to  them  all:—  I  believe  no  regard  is  paid  to.  the 
sabbath  any  where  in  this  State-  It  is  only  made  a 
holiday  of —  So  much  swearing  as  I  have  heard 
amongst  the  Pensylvanigtns  both  men  &  women  I 
have  never  heard  before  during  my  whole  life-  I 
feel  afraid  I  shall  become  so  accustom'd  to  hearing 
it,  as  to  feel  no  uneasiness  at 'it.  Harrisburgh  is; 
a  most  dissipated  place  J  am  sure-^  &  the  small  towns' 
seem  to  partake  of  the  vice  &  .dissipation  of  the 
great  ones —  \;  believe:  ;Mfs  Jackson  has  cast  her 
eyes  on  Susan  or  me  for  a  daughter  in  law-  for  my 
part,  though  I.  .feel  very  well -disposed  toward  the" 
young  man,  I  had  not  thought  of  making  a  bargain 


A  JOURNEY  .TO  OHIO 

*        '     •  •  *  • 

with  him,  but  I  have  jolted  off  most  of  my  high 
notions,  &  perhaps  I  may  .be 'willing  to  descend  from 
'a  judge  to  a  blacksmith-  I*  shall  not  absolutely  deter- 
mine with  respect  to  him  till  I  get  to  Warren  &  have 
time  to  look  about  me  &  compare  him  with  the  judges 
iDobson  &  Stephenson-  It  is  clever  to  have  two  or 
three  strings  to  ones  bow —  But  in  spite  of  my  preju- 
dices, they  are  very. clever —  Among  my  list  of  cast 
off's,  I  would  rank  Dutchmen,  a  Pensylvania  wag- 
goner, ditto  gentlemen-  for  their  -prophanity-  &  a 
Slut-  The  words,  Landlord  &  lady,  terrible,-  get 
•  .married,-  get  a  husband-&c  &c —  I  do  not  find  it  as 
•  easy  to  write  a  journal  as  I  .'had  hoped-  for  we  are 
seldom  favour'd  with  anymore  than  the  barroom,  & 
there  is  always  as  many  mpn  as  the  roo'm  will  hold  be- 
sides our  party,  &  there  is  nine  of  us-  so  you  may 
'  judge  whether  I  find  it  difficult  or  -not-  I  frequently 
begin  a  sentence  &  forget  how  to  finish  it,-  for  the 
conversation  grows  so  loud,  that  I  am  oblig'd  to 
listen  to  it  &  write  between  whiles—  I  sometimes  get 
'quite  discouraged  &  think  I  -will  not  try  again,  but  I 
•iake  too  much  pleasure  in  writing,  to  give  it  up  will- 
jngly — 

10  miles  West  of  Carlisle-  Penn- 

Monday  Nov~5th- 
,\ 
We  came  but  a  little  peice  as  the  Dutchmen  say, 

to  day,  &  are  in  a  most  curious  place  to  night-  If 

,  ^possible  I  will  describe  it-  It  is  a  log  hut  built  across 

the  road  from  the  tavern,  fojr  movers-  that  the  land- 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

lord  need  not  be  bother' d  with  them —  Had  it  been 
possible  for  our  horses  to  have  reached  another  inn 
we  should  not  have  staid  with  the  cross  old  dutch  fel- 
low- we  have  a  good  fire,  a  long  dirty  table,  a  few 
boards  nailed  up  for  a  closet,  a  dozen  long  boards  in 
one  side  &  as  many  barrels  in  the  other-  2  benches  to 
sit  on,  two  bottomless  chairs,  &  a  floor  containing  dirt 
enough  to  plant  potatoes —  The  man  says  he  has 
been  so  bother'd  with  movers,  that  he  has  taken 
down  his  sign,  for  he  does  not  need  his  tavern  to 
live —  If  we  had  a  mind  to  stay  we  might  but  if  we 
chose  to  go  on  he  had  no  objection —  Cross  old 
witch-  I  had  rather  have  walk'd  10  miles  than  stay, 
but  the  poor  horses  could  not —  We  are  going  to 
sleep  on  the  floor  all  in  a  room  together  in  the  old 
stile  without  bothering  the  old  Scamp,  for  any  thing- 
Mrs  Jackson  has  beds —  If  I  did  not  feel  provok'd 
with  the  wretch  I  should  rest  comfortably- 

Tues-  morn-  The  old  man  I  believe  feels  a  little 
asham'd  of  his  treatment  of  us  &  was  going  to  make 
some  apology,  but  concluded  by  saying  with  a  forced 
laugh,  that  if  we  ever  came  there  again,  he  would 
treat  us  just  so-  He  may  if  has  oppor«y — 

Tuesday  night-  Nov-6th- 

We  have  only  counted  17  miles  to  day  although 
the  riding  has  been  much  better  than  for  several 
days  past-  We  stopt  in  Shippenburgh  at  noon-  The 
town  contains  only  one  street  a  mile  &  a  half  in 
length  &  very  thickly  built-  The  street  is  some  part 
of  it  pleasant,  &  some  part  dirty —  I  saw  in  it  a 

[30] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

handsome  young  gentleman  who  was  both  a  dutch- 
man  &  Pennsylvanian,  yet  in  an  hour  &  half  I  did 
not  hear  him  make  use  of  a  single  oath  or  prophane 
word-  It  was  a  remarkable  instance,  the  only  one  I 
have  known,  &  I  could  not  but  remark  it-  Prophanity 

is  the  characteristic  of  a  Pennsylvanian We  are  4 

miles  from  Strasburgh  &  the  mountains,  &  one  of 
our  horses  is  ill,  owing  to  Erastus  giving  him  too 
many  oats-  Erastus  is  master  rather  than  his  father, 
&  will  do  as  he  pleases  for  all  any  one-  He  is  a  stub- 
born fellow,  &  so  impudent  to  his  mother  &  sister, 
that  I  have  no  patience  with  him —  We  are  not  as 
bless'd  as  the  Israelites  were,  for  our  shoes  wax  old 
&  our  cloaths  wear  out —  I  don't  know  that  mine  will 

last  till  I  get  there 

Wed-  morn-  Last  night  Susan  &  I  went  to  bed 
early,  as  we  slept  ill  the  night  before-  we  expected  to 
get  good  beds  &  were  never  so  disappointed-  We 
were  put  in  an  old  garret  that  had  holes  in  the  roof 
big  enough  to  crawl  through-  Our  bed  was  on  the 
floor,  harder  it  appear'd  to  me,  than  boards  could 
be-  &  dirty  as  possible-  a  dirty  feather  bed  our  only 
covering-  After  lying  an  hour  or  two,  we  com- 
plain'd  to  Mrs  Wolcott  who  applied  to  the  landlady 
for  a  bedstead,  but  could  only  obtain  leave  for  us 
to  sleep  on  one  bed  with  another  over  us-  I  slept 
wretchedly  &  feel  very  little  like  climbing  a  moun- 
tain—  Mr  &  Mrs  W  could  not  sleep  at  all  &  got  up 
at  about  eleven  oclock —  She  had  good  beds  in  the 
house  or  I  would  not  have  complained  so  much — 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

Jennyauter-P — Wednesday  2  oclock  P  M- 
between  2  brothers — 


This  morning  we  cross'd  the  first  mountain  call'd 
first  brother,  &  are  in  an  inn  between  the  first  & 
second  brother;  the  latter  we  are  soon  to  ascend- 
The  first  m-n  is  31-2  miles  over,-  better  road  than 
we  expected-  but  bad  enough  to  tire  the  horses  almost 
to  death-  We  met  &  were  overtaken  by  a  number  of 
people —  We  all  walk'd  the  whole  distance  over-  I 
did  not  stop  at  all  to  rest  till  I  reach'd  the  top-  I 
was  then  oblig'd  to  wait  for  some  of  them  to  over- 
take me,  as  I  had  outwalk'd  them  all.  It  is  not  a 
little  fatiguing  to  walk  up  a  long  mountain  I  find — 
When  we  had  nearly  reach'd  the  foot  of  it,  we  heard 
some  music  in  the  valey  below,  &  not  one  of  us  could 
imagine  from  what  it  proceeded;  but  soon  found  it 
was  from  the  bells  of  a  waggoner-  He  had  twelve 
bells  on  the  collars  of  his  horses,  (not  sleigh  bells) 
&  they  made  a  great  variety  of  sounds  which  were 
really  musical  at  a  distance —  We  found  at  the  tav- 
ern where  we  are  now,  or  rather  they  came  after  us, 
a  Mr  Beach,  &  his  wife  who  was  confin'd  nine  days 
after  she  set  out  on  her  journey,  with  a  little  son- 
It  is  just  a  fortnight  since  she  was  confin'd,  &  this 
morning  she  ventur'd  to  set  out  on  her  journey 
again-  They  came  from  Morristown-  N  J-  &  are 
going  to  some  part  of  the  Ohio,  much  farther  than 
we  are  going.  Mrs  B-  appears  to  be  a  very  pretty 
woman  &  quite  a  lady-  Her  father  &  mother,  a  sister 
&  3  little  children,  set  out  with  them,  but  were 

[32] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

oblig'd  to  leave  them  &  go  on,  as  soon  as  Mrs  B 
was  confin'd-  I  feel  afraid  she  will  catch  her  death, 
tho'  every  care  is  taken  to  render  her  journey  safe 
&  comfortable —  She  &  babe  are  both  very  well 
now — 

Fannitsburg-  Penn-  McAllen's  Inn- 
Wednesday  night-  Nov-  6th- 

We  have  over  come  2  mountains  to  day-  &  are 
between  the  2d  &  3d  brothers-  We  walked  over  it- 
I  have  walked  about  8  miles  to  day  &  feel  as  much 
fatigued  as  I  have  almost  ever  been  in  my  life-  It 
was  4  long  miles  over-  We  met  a  number  of  wag- 
gons on  it-  but  no  other  travellers-  This  is  a  very 
small  but  pretty  place-  The  3  first  m-ns  are  very 
near  each  other-  the  4th  is  40  or  50  miles  distant — 
They  are  higher  than  I  expected,  &  make  a  formid- 
able appearance-  It  has  been  very  smoky  all  day-  I 
am  so  tir'd  I  can  neither  think  or  write,  so  good 
night 

Thursday  morn-  We  had  a  good  nights  rest,  but 
I  am  so  lame  I  can  scarcely  walk  this  morning-  I 
have  a  mountain  to  walk  over,  notwithstanding —  Mr 
W's  horses  grow  so  dull  that  he  expects  to  be  oblig'd 
to  put  up  for  a  few  days,  &  we  are  all  almost  dis- 
couraged—  The  weather  looks  stormy  &  where  we 
shall  get  to  or  what  we  shall  do,  I  cannot  imagine — 
The  Jacksons  enquire  about  the  road  &  the  moun- 
tains &c  &c,  of  every  one  they  see,  &  get  such  dif- 
ferent &  contradictory  answers  from  each  one,  that 

[33] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

it  perplexes  &  discourages  us  all-  I  wish  they  would 
be  contented  to  wait  patiently  till  time  &  experience 
inform  them  what  they  cannot  find  out  any  other 
way-  Mr  W  says  I  have  now  an  opporty  to  experience 
the  truth  of  a  text  of  scripture  which  says  "all  men 
are  liars"-  I  found  that  out  long  ago-  &  this  journey 
confirms  the  truth  of  it. 

Peach  Orchard,  P-  Thursday  night- 
Phelps'  Tavern — 

I  do  not  feel  to  night,  my  dear  Elizabeth,  as  if  I 
should  ever  see  you  again-  3  mountains  &  more  hun- 
dreds of  miles  part  us;  &  tho'  I  cannot  give  up  the 
idea  of  returning,  I  cannot  think  of  traversing  this 
road  again-  If  I  live  to  return  I  will  wait  till  the  new 
turnpike  is  finished —  We  cross'd  the  last  brother 
this  morning,  &  found  the  greater  part  of  it,  better 
than  the  other  two-  but  about  60  rods  near  the  top 
it  was  excessively  steep —  We  found  a  house  at  the 
foot  of  the  steepest  part-  A  woman  &  her  2  sons  live 
there  &  keep  cakes  &  beer —  The  woman  told  us  she 
had  no  husband  at  present — I  suppose  she  has  one 
in  expectation —  On  the  first  mountain,  I  found  some 
sweet  Williams —  We  stopt  at  noon,  at  a  dismal 
looking  log  hut  tavern-  The  landlady  (I  hate  the 
word  but  I  must  use  it,)  talk'd  about  bigotry,  bigot- 
ted  notions,  liberty  of  conscience  &c-  She  did  not 
look  as  if  she  knew  the  meaning  of  conscience,  much 
less  of  bigotry —  All  this  afternoon  we  have  been 
walking  over  young  mountains,  distant  relations  of 

[34] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

the  3  brothers,  but  not  half  as  clever-  I  was  so  lame 
&  so  tir'd  that  for  an  hour  I  did  not  know  but  I  must 
set  down  &  die-  I  could  not  ride-  the  road  was  so 
bad,  it  was  worse  than  walking-  I  would  not  tell  you 
all  this,  if  you  were  to  receive  this  before  it  is  all 
over —  It  rain'd  a  very  little  all  day,  but  just  at  night 
it  began  to  rain  very  fast,  &  I  expected  we  should  all 
catch  our  death,  walking  thro'  mud  &  mire,  with  no 
umbrella,  or  but  one  that  would  not  cover  us  all  -  We 
were  wet  thro  before  we  reach'd  this  dreadful  place 
where  we  now  are —  The  Woman  is  cross  &  the 
Man  sick 

Friday  night-  It  rain'd  all  day  yesterday,  &  such  a 
shocking  place  as  this  is,  I  never  saw-  A  dozen  Wag- 
goners are  here,  some  half  drunk  &  no  place  for  us 
to  stay  in  but  our  waggons  or  a  little  chamber  with  3 
squares  of  glass  in  it-  with  scarcely  room  to  sit  or 
stand — 

Saturday  morn I  am  now  in  despair,  it  con- 
tinues raining  faster  than  ever-  The  house  full 
of  drunken  prophane  wretches,  the  old  woman  cross 
as  a  witch-  We  have  nothing  to  eat  &  can  get  noth- 
ing but  some  slapjacks  at  a  baker's  some  distance  off, 

&  so  stormy  we  cannot  get  there Mrs  Jackson 

frets  all  the  time,  I  wish  they  would  go  on  &  leave 
us,  we  should  do  as  well  again —  Mr  Beach  &  his 
wife  &  child  &  the  woman  who  is  with  them,  are 
here,  &  the  house  is  full-  Mrs  Beach  rode  in  all  the 
rain  Thursday,  but  took  no  cold  &  bears  it  well  as 
any  one-  It  rains  most  dreadfully  &  they  say  it  is  the 
clearing  off  shower-  Oh,  if  it  only  proves  so "Oh 

[35] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

had  I  the  wings  of  a  dove,  how  soon  would  I  meet 
you  again"-  We  have  never  found  the  wretches 
indelicate  till  last  evening,  but  while  we  were  at 
tea,  they  began  talking  &  singing  in  a  most  dreadful 
manner —  We  are  4  miles  from  Sidling  hill,  the  next 
mountain,  &  a  mile  &  a  half  from  this,  there  is  a 
creek  which  we  must  cross,  that  is  so  rais'd  by  the 

rain,  as  to  render  it  impossible  to  pass  it 

Saturday  night-  Our  "clearing  up  shower"  has 
lasted  all  day  with  unabated  violence, —  Just  at  sun- 
set we  had  a  pretty  hard  thunder  shower,  &  at  dusk 
there  was  clear  sky  visible  &  the  evening  star  shone 
bright  as  possible,  but  now  it  is  raining  fast  again — 
After  giving  an  emetic  I  would  take  a  long  journey 
with  my  intended,  to  try  his  patience —  mine  is  try'd 
sorely  now-  I  wish  you  could  just  take  a  peep  at  me- 
my  frock  is  wet  &  dirty  a  quarter  of  a  yard  high, 
only  walking  about  the  house-  I  have  been  in  my 
chamber  almost  the  whole  day,  but  was  oblig'd  to  go 
down  just  at  night  to  eat,  &  look  at  the  sky-  I  was 
very  much  frighten'd  by  a  drunken  waggoner,  who 
came  up  to  me  as  I  stood  by  the  door  waiting  for  a 
candle,  he  put  his  arm  round  my  neck,  &  said  some- 
thing which  I  was  too  frighten'd  to  hear-  It  is  the 
first  time  the  least  insult  has  been  offer'd  to  any  of 
us-  One  waggoner  very  civilly  offer'd  to  take  Susan 
or  me,  on  to  Pittss  in  his  waggon  if  we  were  not  like 
to  get  there  till  spring-  It  is  not  yet  determin'd 
which  shall  go  with  him —  One  waggon  in  crossing 
the  creek  this  afternoon,  got  turn'd  over  &  very 
much  injur'd —  We  have  concluded  the  reason  so 

[36] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

few  are  willing  to  return  from  the  Western  country, 
is  not  that  the  country  is  so  good,  but  because  the 
journey  is  so  bad —  Mr  W.  has  gone  to  &  from  there, 
5  times,  but  thinks  this  will  be  the  last  time-  Poor 
Susan  groans  &  sighs  &  now  then  sheds  a  few  tears- 

I  think  I   exceed  her  in  patience  &  fortitude 

Mrs  Wolcott  is  a  woman  of  the  most  perfect  equa- 
nimity I  ever  saw-  She  is  a  woman  of  great  feeling  & 
tenderness,  but  has  the  most  perfect  command  over 
her  feelings-  She  is  not  own  mother  to  these  chil- 
dren, but  she  is  a  very  good  one I  have 

learn'd  Elizabeth,  to  eat  raw  pork  &  drink  whisky- 
dont  you  think  I  shall  do  for  a  new  country?  I  shall 
not  know  how  to  do  either  when  I  end  my  journey, 
however-  We  have  almost  got  out  of  the  land  of 

dutchmen,  but  the  waggoners  are  worse The 

people  here  talk  curiously,  they  all  reckon  instead  of 
expect —  Youns  is  a  word  I  have  heard  used  several 
times,  but  what  it  means  I  don't  know,  they  use  it  so 
strangely —  Mr  Rees  used  to  exclaim  at  any  thing 
wonderful,  "Only  look  at  that  now" —  "I  reckon 
you  are  going  into  the  back  countries"  is  now  our 

usual   salutation   from  every  one Susan  is 

in  bed  for  want  of  some  employment  &  I  will  join 
her,  after  telling  you,  it  has  really  clear'd  off  now,  & 
the  moon  is  shining  in  full  splendor.-  I  hope  to-mor- 
rows sun  will  deign  to  smile  upon  us-  It  is  long  since 

we  have  seen  it I  expect  to  be  oblig'd  to  go  thro' 

a  process  of  fire  &  brimstone  at  my  journeys  end  & 
shall  feel  thankful,  if  that  will  remedy  all  the  evils 
arising  from  dirty  beds  &c —  I  find  no  necessity  for 

[371 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

even   that   yet,   but    I    fear   I    shall   soon good 

night 

Sunday  2  oclock  P  M-  We  left  the  Inn  this  morn- 
ing in  the  hope  of  getting  a  little  piece  on  our  way, 
but  have  only  reach'd  the  baker's,  half  a  mile  from 
where  we  set  out-  The  creek  is  so  high  we  cannot 
cross  it  yet-  An  old  man  &  his  wife  live  here,  & 
appear  to  be  very  kind  clever  people,  &  what  is  more 
than  we  have  found  before,  they  appear  to  regard 
the  Sabbath-  They  are  Methodists-  This  is  a  small 
log  hut,  but  clean  &  comfortable-  There  are  no  wag- 
goners here —  I  shall  be  oblig'd  to  colour  my  frock 
I  believe,  for  it  attracts  the  attention  of  those  crea- 
tures so  much,  that  I  dare  not  go  in  sight  of  them 
scarcely-  I  often  think  of  the  2  lines  your  Mama 
repeated  to  us  "In  Silk,  &c" 

Sunday  night. 

About  sunset,  we  left  the  baker's  &  came  down  to 
the  Creek,  but  found  it  was  impossible  to  get  over 
the  waggon,  &  the  road  was  so  intolerable  between 
the  place  we  had  left  &  the  creek,  that  we  could  not 
go  back,  &  what  to  do,  it  took  a  long  time  to  deter- 
mine; but  at  length  Mr  W  concluded  we  had  better 
come  over  to  a  dirty  tavern  this  side,  &  let  Erastus 
sleep  in  the  wagon —  The  stream  runs  so  fast,  that 
we  did  not  dare  cross  it  alone,  as  there  was  nothing 
but  a  log  to  cross  on;  so  the  waggoners  &  our 
own  party,  were  oblig'd  to  lead  &  pilot  us,  over 
the  stream  &  thro'  a  most  shocking  place  as  I  ever 

[38] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 
saw-  The  men  were  all  very  civil-  they  are  waiting 

this  line  is  the  shape  of  a  Pennsylvania  waggon— 

--  Wefare 


worse  &  worse,  &  still  Mr  W-  &  his  wife,  tell  us  this 
is  nothing  to  what  will  come-  I  do  not  fully  believe 
them,  for  we  cannot  endure  much  more  &  live  — 
Susan  &  young  Mrs  Jackson  have  been  quite  unwell 
all  day  —  I  never  felt  in  better  health,  &  my  spirits 
are  pretty  good,  considering  all  things  —  We  are 
not  able  to  get  beds  here,  &  are  to  sleep  on  the  floor 
to  night-  There  is  another  family  here,  with  several 
little  children  —  They  say  there  has  been  a  heap  of 
people  moving  this  fall;-  I  don't  know  exactly  how 
many  a  heap  is,  or  a  sight  either,  which  is  another 
way  of  measuring  people  —  I  would  be  apt  to  think 
it  was  a  terrible  parcel,  to  use  the  language  of  the 
people  round  me  -  I  have  such  an  enormous  appe- 
tite the  whole  time,  that  I  have  been  in  some  fear  of 
starving-  for  food  of  every  kind,  is  very  scarce  with 
us-  Money  will  not  procure  it,  &  nothing  else  I  am 
sure,  will-  for  they  love  money  better  than  life,  if 
possible  —  4  Sabbaths  we  have  pass'd  on  the 
road,  &  I  suppose  2  or  3  more  will  pass  before  we 
get  among  people  who  "remember  the  sabbath  day 
to  keep  it  holy"  —  We  find  no  books  to  read,  only  at 
the  bakers  to  day  I  found  part  of  a  bible,  a  metho- 
dist  hymn  book  &  a  small  book  containing  an  ac- 
count of  the  progress  of  Methodism  throughout  the 
country;  in  letters  from  Ministers  &  others  -- 
We  left  Mr  Beach  &  family,  at  the  tavern  we  left 

[39] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

to  day —  I  hope  tomorrow  to  write  you  from  a  com- 
fortable place  6  or  8  miles  at  least  from  the  next 
mountain — 

Monday  morn-  We  have  now  I  think  met  with  as 
bad  as  can  befal  us —  Never,  never  did  I  pass  such 

a  night We  could  get  no  bed  &  for  a  long  time 

expected  to  be  oblig'd  to  set  up  all  night-  but  we 
could  get  no  room  nor  fire  to  stay  by,  &  the  landlady 
was  so  kind  as  to  give  up  her  bed  to  us;  so  Mrs  W 
&  Susan  went  to  bed  there,  while  I  went  to  bed  with 
Mrs  Jackson  in  another  room-  I  took  off  my  frock 
&  boots,  &  had  scarcely  lain  down,  when  one  of  the 
wretches  came  into  the  room  &  lay  down  by  me  on 
the  outside  of  the  bed-  I  was  frighten'd  almost  to 
death  &  clung  to  Mrs  Jackson  who  did  not  appear  to 
mind  it-  &  I  lay  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  crying,  & 
scolding  &  trembling,  begging  of  him  to  leave  me- 
At  last,  when  persuaded  I  was  in  earnest,  he  begg'd 
of  me  not  to  take  it  amiss,  as  he  intended  no  harm  & 
only  wish'd  to  become  acquainted  with  me —  A  good 
for  nothing  brute,  I  wonder  what  he  suppos'd  I 
was-  I  don't  know  of  any  thought  word  or  action  of 
mine  that  could  give  him  reason  to  suppose  I  would 
authorise  such  abominable  insolence —  The  man  & 
his  wife,  who  are  here,  &  their  family,  John  Jackson 
&  his  wife,  &  Mrs  Jackson,  were  all  in  the  room- 
The  moment  he  left  the  room,  I  put  on  my  frock  & 
was  going  in  to  M«  W  &  Susan,  but  I  could  not  get 
to  them  without  going  thro'  the  room  where  all  the 
waggoners  were,  &  Mrs  Jackson  did  not  think  it 
safe,  so  I  got  on  another  part  of  the  bed  where  none 

[40] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

of  them  could  come  near  me,  &  had  been  there 
about  10  minutes  when  Mrs  W  &  Susan  came  into 
the  room  both  crying,  &  as  much  frighten'd  as  I 
had  been,  for  one  of  the  creatures  had  been  into 
their  room,  &  they  could  scarcely  get  him  out-  Mr 
W-  was  in  the  waggon,  &  the  landlord  was  so  afraid 
of  these  wags8  that  he  did  not  dare  stay  in  his  own 
house,  for  they  threaten'd  to  put  him  into  the  creek, 
if  he  did  not  continue  giving  them  liquor—  I  wish 
they  had  put  him  in-  a  mean  sneaking  fellow ! —  His 
poor  wife  was  then  oblig'd  to  bear  it  all,  &  she  was 
very  much  distress'd  on  our  account-  She  was  not 
to  blame  for  any  thing  that  happen'd,  for  as  long 
as  her  husband  suffer'd  it,  she  could  not  prevent  it- 
At  last  Mrs  W-  went  to  bed  with  Mrs  Jackson  &  me, 
&  Susan  lay  down  with  John  &  his  wife-  We  lay  but 
a  few  minutes,  when  one  of  them  came  into  our  room 
again  crawling  on  his  hands  &  knees-  Mrs  W  &  I 
sprung  &  run  out  into  the  mud  in  our  stocking  feet 
&  were  going  to  call  Mr  W.-  but  the  creatures  came 
out  to  us  &  begg'd  us  not  to,  &  pledg'd  their  honor 
(of  which  you  may  suppose  they  possess'd  a  great 
share)  that  we  should  not  be  disturb'd  more-  & 
tenderness  for  Mr  W-  who  we  knew  would  be  sick 
to  day  if  depriv'd  of  rest,  at  length  determin'd  us 
to  go  back;  but  we  did  not  go  to  bed  again  till  just 
morning,  when  some  of  us  slept  nearly  or  quite  an 
hour-  which  was  every  wink  of  sleep  we  could  obtain 
during  the  whole  night-  The  fellows  were  all  but 
one,  very  still  afterwards-  Indeed  there  was  but  2 
who  made  any  disturbance,  &  only  one  of  those  was 

[41] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

very  bad-  but  one,  was  a  complete  child  of  the  evil 
one-  the  vilest,  worst,  most  blasphemous  wretch,  that 
ever  liv'd —  Mr  W-  came  back  to  the  house  before 
2  oclock,  &  this  morning,  threaten'd  them  with  a 
prosecution-  They  are  quite  angry-  they  are  in  the 
employ  of  this  man  who  is  moving;  he  is  a  merchant 
&  they  carry  his  goods  to  Pittss — 

Novbr-i2*h  Monday  night-  Nail  Shop- 
on  the  4th  Mountain 

We  have  got  8  1-2  miles  on  our  journey  to  day, 
&  now  it  rains  again —  If  I  could  describe  to  you 
our  troubles  from  roads,  waggoners  &  creeks,  I 
would,-  but  it  is  impossible —  The  waggoners  set  out 
just  before  we  did  &  the  bad  one  being  foremost 
has  taken  all  the  pains  in  his  power  to  hinder  our 
progress,  by  driving  as  slow  as  possible  &  stopping 
every  other  moment-  The  road  was  too  narrow  to 
pass  them,  unless  they  would  turn  out  for  us-  all  but 
one  did,  but  he  swore  he  would  not-  We  came  by 
them  as  they  stopp'd  at  noon,  &  put  up  to  night  at 
an  inn  on  the  mountain,  out  of  the  direct  road,  where 
we  should  peaceably  pass  the  night-  but  the  waggon- 
ers have  follow'd  us,  &  the  house  is  full-  They  are 
not  in  our  room —  Our  party  now  consists  of  Mrs 
Jackson's,  Mr  Beach's  &  Mr  W's  familys —  The 
woman  who  is  with  Mr  Beach,  is  such  a  foolish  old 
creature,  that  we  are  all  out  of  patience  with  her — 

She  is  aunt  to  them,  I  believe If  I  were  to  choose, 

I  would  never  have  company  on  a  long  journey-  such 

[42] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

company  at  least-  Our  chairs  here  are  taken  from  us 
for  the  Waggoners Our  road  over  the  moun- 
tains, has  not  even  a  good  prospect  to  render  it 
pleasant-  I  have  been  repeating  to  Susan  all  day, 
"Comfort  damsel  &c"-  Mrs  Jackson  is  scolding 
because  she  has  no  chair  to  set  on.-  Mr  W-  tells  her, 
"Fret  not  thyself  because  of  evil  doers" —  There  is 
another  impassable  creek  a  head,  &  a  hundred  wag- 
gons waiting  to  cross  it-  Our  prospect  brightens  fast- 
dont  you  think  so  ?  good  night — 

Tuesday  eve-  Nov-  13th-  4  miles  east  of 

Bedford-  Penn— 

We  have  at  length  escap'd  the  waggoners  &  Mr 
Beach-  The  former  did  not  trouble  us  last  night  at 
all  in  the  night-  When  we  went  to  bed  they  watch'd 
us  narrowly,  &  after  we  were  in  bed  we  heard  them 
talking  about  us,  enquiring  of  each  other  where  we 
slept  &c-  We  were  in  the  room  with  Mr  &  Mrs  Wol- 
cott,  directly  over  the  room  they  were  in,  but  still  I 
felt  afraid  of  them-  The  worst  one  is  quite  mad,  & 
says  he  intends  if  possible,  to  give  us  more  trouble 
than  he  has  done  already-  The  other  is  quite  asham'd 
of  his  conduct  &  I  suspect  would  be  willing  to  make 
any  amends  in  his  power-  He  told  this  to  Mrs  Jack- 
son who  is  much  too  familiar  with  them,  &  I  believe 
it  was  owing  entirely  to  that,  that  they  conducted 
so-  for  the  rest  of  us  always  avoid  even  the  sight  of 
them,  as  much  as  possible;  &  much  more  any  con- 
versation with  them —  We  got  up  very  early  indeed 

[43] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

&  set  out  before  breakfast,  because  the  horses  could 
have  no  hay,  &  we  have  got  quite  out  of  their  reach — 
We  cross'd  a  little  stream  call'd  the  Juniaatta-  I 
spell  the  names  as  they  are  pronounced,  but  I  do  not 
spell  them  right,  I  am  sure,  nor  can  I  find  out  how 
they  are  spelt  many  of  them-  The  river  is  long  & 
narrow-  It  takes  a  winding  course  thro'  the  moun- 
tains, &  is  a  very  pretty  stream —  We  rode  some 
distance  on  its  banks,  &  the  road  been  tolerable,  it 
would  have  been  pleasant-  I  have  said  so  much  about 
the  badness  of  the  roads  that  you  will  hardly  believe 
me  when  I  tell  you  we  seen  some  of  the  worst 
to  day  we  have  ever  found-  &  some,  as  good  as  any 
in  this  state —  I  should  not  have  suppos'd  it  pos- 
sible for  any  thing  to  pass  it-  Mrs  W  said  it  seem'd 
like  going  into  the  lower  regions,  but  I  had  always 
an  idea,  that  road  was  smooth  &  easy-  I  am  sure  if 
it  was  as  bad  as  that,  it  would  have  fewer  travellers- 
We  went  down  however  till  we  came  to  a  lower  re- 
gion- It  was  really  awful —  We  saw  some  men  to 
day,  mending  the  roads-  I  did  not  think  a  Pennsyl- 
vanian  ever  touch'd  a  road  or  made  a  bridge,  for  we 
are  oblig'd  to  ride  thro'  every  stream  we  come  to- 
We  have  been  nearly  20  miles  to  day;  &  have  been 
oblig'd  to  walk  up  hill,  till  we  are  all  very  tir'd-  I 
felt  too  much  so  to  write,  but  I  am  unwilling  to  omit 
it-  We  are  now,  comfortably  &  quietly  seated,  in  a 
private  house-  I  only  wish  now,  we  could  get  rid  of 
what  company  we  have  left-  but  that  we  cannot 
do- 

[44] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

Wednesday  night.    A  private  house- 

10  miles  w-  of  Bedford 

We  cross'd  the  Juniaatta  again  to  day,  with  a 
great  deal  of  trouble,  after  waiting  on  its  banks 
about  3  hours-  It  is  astonishing  how  the  last  week's 
rain,  rais'd  every  stream  &  overflow'd  every  place- 
The  like  here,  has  not  been  known  for  30  years  it  is 
said —  A  waggoner  last  week,  with  4  horses,  was 
drown'd  crossing  a  creek-  He  was  advis'd  by  those 
who  were  by,  not  to  venture-  &  answer'd  "he  would 
be  damn'd  to  hell  if  he  did  not  cross  it"-  he  made  the 
attempt  &  in  a  few  minutes  was  sent  into  eternity,  & 

probably  to  that  awful  place It  has  been 

raining  very  fast  this  afternoon,  &  we  put  up  at  a 
little  log  hut,  a  few  miles  west  of  Bedford—  we  came 
about  10  miles  to  day-  The  house  is  very  small  & 
there  is  scarcely  room  to  move- 
Thursday  night-  Allegany  Mtn 

Nov-  1 6- 

We  have  had  a  warm  &  pleasant  day  till  towards 
night,  when  it  began  to  rain,  as  it  has  done  every 
day  for  a  fortnight-  We  are  now  at  a  tavern  half  a 
mile  from  the  top  of  the  Allegany  Mt-  this  Mountain 
is  14  miles  over-  At  the  highest  part  of  it  is  a  most 
beautiful  prospect  of  mountains—  5  or  6  ridges  one 
after  the  other —  We  clamber'd  up  a  high  rock  near 
to  the  highest  part,  but  found  the  prospect  little 
better  than  the  one  from  the  road-  I  wish  I  could 
describe  it  to  you-  We  have  had  no  prospect  of  any 

[45] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

consequence  from  any  of  the  mountains  before-  I 
have  been  quite  disappointed  at  not  seeing  any — 
We  found  winter  green  berrys  in  abundance  on  it- 
I  pick'd  a  sprig  of  ivy  from  the  top,  which  I.  will 
send  you-  call  it  laurel  &  preserve  it,  as  it  came  from 
the  very  backbone  of  America,  as  they  all  tell  us — 
We  have  walk'd  a  great  deal  to  day,  &  indeed  we  are 
oblig'd  to  every  day,  for  the  whole  country  seems 
one  continued  mtn-  I  thought  we  had  reach'd  the  top 
of  this,  for  we  began  to  descend  a  little;  but  we  have 

half  a  mile  more  to  ascend  yet This  house  is  full 

of  travvellers  &  wag'nrs  but  all  are  very  peacable- 
There  is  a  curiosity  in  the  house-  a  young  lady  who 
has  come  from  N  Connecticut  unmarried —  after 
staying  in  Warren  a  year — a  thing  I  never  before 
heard  of,  &  had  begun  to  think  impossible.  I  feel 
quite  encouraged  by  it-  &  do  not  believe  the  place  as 

dangerous  as  is  generally  reported I  find  in  every 

family  a  Paggy-  every  body  is  dutch —  the  children 
&  girls,  are  all  very  much  attracted  by  my  little  black 
buttons,  &  the  manner  in  which  my  frock  is  made- 
&  the  Wag'"  by  the  colour  of  it-  There  will  be  little 
of  it  left  by  the  time  I  get  to  Warren,  for  it  is  al- 
most gone — 

Friday  night-  Allegany  Mtn — 

After  a  comfortable  nights  rest,  we  set  out  on  foot 
to  reach  the  height  of  the  mtn-  It  rain'd  fast  for  a 
long  time,  &  at  length  began  snowing-  We  found  the 
roads  bad  past  description,-  worse  than  you  can  pos- 

[46] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

sibly  imagine-  Large  stones  &  deep  mud  holes  every 
step  of  the  way-  We  were  oblig'd  to  walk  as  much 
as  we  possibly  could,  as  the  horses  could  scarcely  stir 
the  waggon  the  mud  was  so  deep  &  the  stones  so 
large —  It  has  grown  so  cold  that  I  fear  we  shall  all 
perish  tomorrow-  We  suffer'd  with  cold  excessively, 
to  day-  From  what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  I  think 
the  State  of  Ohio  will  be  well  fill'd  before  winter,- 
Waggons  without  number,  every  day  go  on-  One 
went  on  containing  forty  people-  We  almost  every 
day,  see  them  with  1 8  or  20-  one  stopt  here  to  night 
with  21 —  We  are  at  a  baker's,  near  a  tavern  which 
is  fill'd  with  movers  &  waggoners-  It  is  a  comfort- 
able place,  but  rather  small-  One  old  man  has  been 
in  examining  my  writing,  &  giving  his  opinion  of  it 
in  dutch,  to  a  young  fellow  who  was  with  him-  He 
said  he  could  not  read  a  word  of  any  thing —  He 
found  fault  with  the  ink,  but  commended  the  strait- 
ness  &  facility  with  which  I  wrote-  in  english-  I  was 

glad  he  had  not  on  his  specs We  came  but 

10  miles  to  day,  &  are  yet  on  the  Allegany-  It  is  up 
hill  almost  all  the  way  down  the  mountains —  I  do 
not  know  when  we  are  down  them  for  my  part — 
I'm  thinking  as  they  say  here,  we  shall  be  oblig'd  to 
winter  on  it,  for  I  reckon  we  shall  be  unable  to  pro- 
ceed on  our  journey,  on  account  of  roads,  weather, 
&c —  We  are  on  the  old  Pennsylvania  road-  the 
Glade  road  is  said  to  be  ten  times  worse  than  this- 
That  is  utterly  impossible-  We  thought  we  should 
escape  the  waggoners  this  way;  but  find  as  many  of 
them  as  ever-  they  are  a  very  great  annoyance 

[47] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

What  would  the  old  man  say  hereto? —  I  am  very 
tir'd,  so  good  night — 

Saturday  eve-2  miles  from  Laurel  Hill-Penn- 

We  came  but  9  or  10  miles  to  day,  &  are  now  near 
the  6th  Mountain-  in  a  tavern  fill'd  with  half  drunken 
noisy  waggoners —  One  of  them  lies  singing  directly 
before  the  fire;  proposing  just  now  to  call  for  a  song 

from  the  young  ladies I  can  neither  think 

nor  write  he  makes  so  much  noise  with  his  love 
songs;  I  am  every  moment  expecting  something 
dreadful  &  dare  not  lay  down  my  pen  lest  they  should 
think  me  listening  to  them-  They  are  the  very  worst 
wretches  that  ever  liv'd,  I  do  believe, — I  am  out  of 
all  patience  with  them-  The  whole  world  nor  any 
thing  in  it,  would  tempt  me  to  stay  in  this  State 
three  months-  I  dislike  everything  belonging  to  it  — 
I  am  not  so  foolish  as  to  suppose  there  are  no  better 
people  in  it  than  those  we  have  seen;  but  let  them 
be  ever  so  good,  I  never  desire  to  see  any  of  them — 
We  overtook  an  old  waggoner  whose  waggon  had 
got  set  in  the  mud,  &  I  never  heard  a  creature  swear 
so-  &  whipt  his  horses  till  I  thought  they  would 
die  —  I  could  not  but  wonder  at  the  patience  and  for- 
bearance of  the  Almighty,  whose  awful  name  was  so 
blasphem'd —  We  also  overtook  a  young  Doctor- 
who  is  going  with  his  father  to  Mad  river  in  the 
state  of  Ohio —  He  has  been  studying  physic  in  New 
Jersey,-  but  appears  to  be  an  uneducated  man  from 
the  language  he  makes  use  of 1  believe  both  him- 
self &  his  father  are  very  clever-  I  heard  them  re- 

[48] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

proving  a  swearer —  He  dresses  smart,  &  was  so 
polite  as  to  assist  us  in  getting  over  the  mud —  Susan 
&  I  walk'd  on  before  the  waggon  as  usual,  &  he  over- 
took us  and  invited  us  into  the  house  &  call'd  for 
some  brandy  sling-  we  did  not  drink,  which  he  ap- 
pear'd  not  to  like  very  well,  &  has  scarcely  spoken 
to  us  since —  He  thinks  himself  a  gentleman  of  the 
first  chop,  &  takes  the  liberty  of  coining  words  for 
himself-  Speaking  of  the  people  in  this  state,  he 
said  they  were  very  ignorant  &  very  superstition- 
ary — perhaps  you  have  heard  the  word  before—  I 
never  did — 

Sunday  morn-  We  had  good  beds  last  night,  con- 
trary to  my  expectation,-  and  we  are  going  on  our 
journey  this  morning-  It  is  extremely  cold  &  very  bad 
riding  or  walking-  Mr  W-  has  been  so  long  detain'd 
by  bad  weather  &  riding,  that  he  thinks  himself  justi- 
fiable in  riding  on  the  sabbath-  I  thought  so  some 
time  ago — 

Sunday  noon-  We  are  on  the  top  of  Laurel 
Hill,  the  6th  mountain —  We  women  &  girls,  have 
walk'd  between  5  &  6  miles  this  morning —  We  left 
the  waggons  getting  along  very  slowly,  &  came  on 
to  a  house  to  warm  us-  It  is  a  log  hut  &  full  of  chil- 
dren, as  is  every  one  we  come  to —  The  wind  whistles 

about  us,  &  it  looks  very  much  like  snow One 

waggon  got  set  this  morning,  &  hinder'd  us  this  long 
time —  The  young  Doctor  &  his  father  are  still  in 
company  with  us —  The  former,  who  has  got  over 
his  pouting  fit,  leaves  his  father  to  drive,-  while  he 
walks  on  with  the  ladies-  he  is  not  with  us  just  now — 

[49] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

He  has  not  conquer'd  the  antipathy  I  bear  a  young 
physician-  or  rather  a  young  Doctor-  How  little  it 
seems  like  the  sabbath-  I  would  not  write  if  I  could 
do  any  thing  else-  but  I  can  not  even  think  good 
thoughts — 

Sunday  eve-  Nov-i9th-  Foot  of 

Laurel  Hill-Penn- 

I  wish  my  dear  Elizabeth,  you  could  be  here  for 
half  an  hour,  &  hear  the  strangest  man  talk,  that 
you  or  I  ever  saw  in  this  world-  He  is  either  mad 
or  a  fool-  I  don't  know  which,  but  he  looking  over 
me  &  telling  me  I  can  make  a  writer-  He  is  the  most 
rating,  ranting  fellow-  I  wish  you  could  hear  him — 
I  begin  to  think  him  mad-  His  name  is  Smith-  He 
&  his  wife  are  journeying  either  to  New  Orleans  or 
the  Ohio —  I  never  was  more  diverted  than  to  hear 
him  (he  is  certainly  crazy-  repeating  a  prayer  &  a 
sermon  &  forty  other  things  in  a  breath)  talk  about 
the  Dutchmen  in  Pennsylvania-  He  &  his  wife  came 
amongst  them  one  evening  &  stopt  at  several  houses 
to  get  entertainment,  but  was  sent  on  by  each  one  to 
the  tavern-  He  began  by  stating  his  religious  tenets, 
&  at  length  after  every  body  &  thing  was  created,  he 
says  the  under  Gods  (of  whom  he  supposes  there 
were  a  great  number)  took  some  of  the  skum  & 
stir'd  it  up,  &  those  fellows  came  out — or  rather 

Hell  boil'd  over  &  they  were  form'd  of  the  skum 

I  believe  he  has  been  studying  all  his  life  for  hard 
words  &  pompous  speeches,  &  he  rattled  them  off 
at  a  strange  rate-  His  language  is  very  ungrammati- 

[50] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

cal-  but  the  Jacksons  are  all  in  raptures  with  him — 
They  cannot  understand  his  language  (nor  indeed 
could  any  one  else)  &  therefore  concluded  he  must 
be  very  learned-  Their  observations  are  almost  as 
diverting  as  his  conversation-  I  could  make  them  be- 
lieve in  ten  minutes,  that  I  was  a  girl  of  great  larnin- 
if  I  were  to  say  over  Kermogenious-  Heterogenious 
&  a  few  such  words  without  any  connection — no 
matter  if  I  do  but  bring  them  in  some  how —  We 
are  over  the  6th  mountain  &  at  an  Inn  at  the  foot  of 
it-  This  mtn  is  called  worse  than  any  of  them-  it  is 
only  about  6  miles  over-  We  have  only  come  8  to 
day,  &  I  have  not  been  in  the  waggon-  The  horses 
once  or  twice  got  set,  &  cast  &c-  we  have  had  a  deal 
of  bad  luck —  There  is  a  great  many  travellers  here- 

the  house  is  full The  young  D*  told  me  he  was 

married,  to  day —  I  like  him  rather  better  than  I  did, 
before,  &  ventured  to  walk  on  a  mile  or  two  with 
him-  He  gave  me  the  history  of  his  courtship  &c- 
and  some  information  respecting  the  part  of  Ohio 
he  is  going  to,  that  was  quite  interesting —  Susan 
chose  to  ride  down  the  hill,  &  I  outwalk'd  M"  W, 
so  we  were  quite  alone  till  we  reach'd  this  house-  Mrs 
Jackson  &  Eliza  had  gone  on  before  us,  and  I  every 
moment  expected  to  overtake  them,  but  did  not  see 
them  till  we  got  here —  I  am  very  tir'd  &  have 
laughed  myself  into  a  headache;  so  I  can  write  no 
more  to  night. 

Monday  morn-  Last  night  we  were  again  cheated 
out  of  our  beds,  &  oblig'd  to  pass  the  night  as  we 
could,  &  that  was  most  uncomfortably-  I  was  quite 

[51] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

unwell  with  the  headache,  &  had  waited  for  a  bed 
an  hour  &  a  half  longer  than  I  felt  able  to  set  up ;  & 
when  I  found  I  could  get  none,  I  had  a  long  crying 
spell —  This  morning  I  feel  almost  sick —  Mr  W- 
is  so  much  afraid  of  making  trouble,  that  he  will 
wait  till  every  body  else  is  served,  &  let  them  cheat 
him  out  of  his  eyes,  &  say  nothing.  Our  party  here 
consists  of  English,  Irish,  German,  &  Americans- 
2  of  the  first-  4  of  the  second-  i  of  the  third-  &  a 
house  full  of  the  last —  This  strange  man  is  an 
everlasting  talker-  He  knows  every  body  &  every 
thing  about  them-  He  has  been  repeating  one  of  Mr 
Pierpont  Edwards'  speeches  to  me-  &  one  of  Mr  Hil- 
house's-  Not  one  second  elapses  between  his  words- 
He  is  a  very  pompous  fellow  &  takes  great  pains  to 
display  what  he  does  know-  He  has  been  a  school- 
master- &  now  I  suspect  is  crazy  &  running  away 
with  a  girl  he  calls  his  wife-  but  who  seems  to  be 

nobody It  rain'd  very  fast  last  night-  &  is  more 

muddy  than  ever — 

Monday  night-  a  mile  west  of  the  mountains- 
Rejoice  with  me  my  dear  Elizabeth,  that  we  are 
at  length  over  all  the  mountains,  so  call'd —  I  do  not 
suppose  we  shall  be  much  better  off  than  we  were 
before,  as  it  respects  roads-  for  I  had  just  as  lieve  go 
over  a  mountain,  as  to  go  over  the  same  distance  of 
any  part  of  the  road  we  have  had  this  fortnight  or 
three  weeks-  But  it  sounds  well  to  say  we  are  over 
the  mountains —  We  cross'd  Chesnut  Ridge,  the  yth 
&  last  Mtn  this  afternoon-  It  is  5  miles  over — 12 

[5*1 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

miles  we  have  come  to  day —  There  is  a  pretty  pros- 
pect of  hills  as  you  come  down  the  Mtn-  One  house 
on  the  top  of  it —  We  have  taken  a  great  deal  of 
pains  to  get  rid  of  company  to  day,  by  going  for- 
ward &  staying  behind-  but  is  is  an  impossibility 
(Mr  Newington)  I  am  more  out  of  patience  than 
ever —  We  came  on  to  the  4th  tavern  after  we  got 
down,-  because  we  thought  those  behind  us,  would 
stop  sooner-  Mrs  Jackson  &  her  tribe  were  with  us- 
but  we  thought  all  the  rest  were  out  of  the  reach  of 
us-  This  is  a  little  hut,  one  window  in  front-  but  it 
is  neat  &  comfortable  inside,  &  we  were  all  quietly 
seated  round  the  fire,  congratulating  ourselves  on  our 
escape,  when  in  came  the  young  doctor-  I  thought 
we  should  all  scream  out-  Mrs  Jackson  told  him  she 
thought  we  had  lost  him-  he  said  he  lik'd  not  to  have 
found  us-  I  wish  with  all  my  heart,  they  had  got  fast 
in  the  mud  a  little  while.  The  rattlebrain'd  fellow  is 
not  here,  to  talk  us  to  death —  He  pass'd  us  on  the 
road,  singing  &  screaming,  advising  us  to  go  back 
&  learn  hog  latin-  alias  German-  or  dutch —  We  are 
now  41  miles  from  Pitt 

Novbr  2ist  Tuesday  Night-A  mile  from 

Greensburg-Penn- 

We  have  had  better  roads  to  day,  but  only  came 
10  miles —  Last  night  we  had  good  beds,  but  were 
oblig'd  to  sleep  in  the  room  with  the  Dr  &  his  father- 
Mr  &  Mrs  W-  of  course,  as  we  have  determin'd  not 
to  sleep  out  of  their  room  again —  The  landlord  & 
his  wife  were  extremely  clever-  they  gave  us  a  great 

[53] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

many  apples  &  some  cherry  bounce-  Such  treatment, 
after  being  refus'd  even  the  privilege  of  getting  any 
victuals,-  as  we  were  the  night  before,  was  very 
welcome —  The  landlord  has  been  a  waggoner- 
"Only  look  at  that  now"-A  clever  waggoner!  I 
cannot  but  think  his  cleverness  (is  there  such  a 
word?)  came  after  he  gave  up  his  waggon —  After 
riding  a  little  way,  we  overtook  Mr  Smith  again,  & 
found  he  had  been  fighting  with  a  waggoner,  who 
began  to  insult  him,  by  calling  him  a  damn'd  Yankee- 
before  they  ended  Mr  S-  whipt  3  of  them-  I  was 
glad  they  got  whipt,  for  almost  every  one  deserves 
it —  Mr  S-  lamented  we  were  not  there  to  see  the 
fun-  He  declar'd,  or  rather  swore,  he  would  not 
leave  us  again,  but  would  stand  by  and  fight  for 
all-  He  lets  his  wife  ride  alone,  &  he  walks  on  to 
talk  to  every  one  that  will  listen  to  him —  As  for  the 
Dr,  he  is  "nothing  but  a  pester"-  Susan  &  I  took  a 
great  deal  of  pains  to  go  either  before  or  behind  to 
get  rid  of  his  company,  but  it  does  no  good,  for  he 
will  either  wait,  or  walk  faster-  I  had  a  great  mind 
to  ask  him,  if  he  expected  to  lose  his  wife  soon- 
We  pass'd  thro  Greensburg,  a  pretty  little  town, 
situated  on  a  high  hill-  the  other  waggons  had  gone 
on,  &  were  bating  in  the  town-  but  Mr  W-  did  not 
stop,  so  the  Dr  follow'd  on  &  left  his  father,  & 
waited  at  another  place  for  us  to  bait-  We  were  only 
able  to  come  a  mile  farther,  as  the  horses  fail'd- 
The  rest  of  the  company  had  gone  on,  expecting  us 
to  follow-  The  Dr  came  in  here  with  us  &  I  thought 
intended  to  stay,  by  his  actions,  but  he  at  length 

[54] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

walk'd  on  to  join  the  rest  of  his  company —  We  have 
escap'd  hearing  Mr  S-  talk,  which  I  would  not  be 
oblig'd  to  do  for  9  pence  an  hour- 
Wednesday  morn-  I  have  not  spent  so  pleasant 
an  evening  this  long  time  as  the  last-  Will  you  be- 
lieve me,  when  I  tell  you  we  heard  some  waggoners 
conversing  upon  religious  subjects-  instead  of  swear- 
ing &  cursing-  One  is  an  Irish  waggoner,  &  appears 
to  be  sensible,  well  inform'd  man-  &  what  is  more, 
has  read  his  bible-  2  clever  waggoners!  I  think  I 
will  never  condemn  a  whole  race  again-  I  can  now, 
even  believe  it  possible  to  find  a  clever  Dutchman  in 
Pennsylvania.  I  hope  we  shall  lose  all  our  com- 
pany this  morning-  but  I  expect  they  will  wait  for 
us-  This  is  a  good  tavern-  We  have  had  sun  shine  for 
2  days  past-  The  weather,  as  it  respects  heat  &  cold, 
is  very  variable-  but  it  invariably  rains  every  day — 

Thursday  Morn-  Sewel's  tavern- 

Versailes-township- 

Yesterday  morning,  we  did  not  set  out  till  quite 
late,  but  had  the  good  fortune  to  overtake  all  our 
company  within  an  hour  or  two,  &  were  oblig'd  once 
more  to  put  up  with  them-  We  had  also,  a  consid- 
erable addition  to  our  party —  We  were  oblig'd  to 
walk  a  great  deal,  &  just  at  night,  I  happen'd  to  be 
on  before  the  waggon  some  distance  &  prevented  Mr 
W-  from  stopping  at  a  private  house,  which  we 
pass'd-  I  did  not  think  of  his  wishing  it  till  Mrs  J- 
mentioned  it,  I  then  set  out  to  return,  but  saw  the 
waggon  coming  &  sat  down  on  a  log-  We  did  not 

[55] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

reach  a  tavern  till  some  time  after  dark-  &  Mr  W- 
got  hurt  &  his  waggon  got  set-,  &  he  feels  unpleas- 
antly towards  me,  &  thinks  me  the  whole  cause  of 
his  trouble —  The  whole  family  feel  &  treat  me  dif- 
ferently this  morning,  &  I  can  not  think  myself  to 
blame-  for  we  are  oblig'd  to  walk  almost  all  the  time, 
&  if  we  are  behind  the  waggon  Mr  W-  always  is 
angry —  Mrs  W-  Susan  &  I,  were  oblig'd  to  walk, 
till  we  found  a  house,  &  if  the  young  Dr  had  not 
been  with  us,  I  don't  know  but  we  should  have  pass'd 
the  night  in  the  woods  -  but  he  was  so  good  as  to 
assist  us  -  The  gentlemen  all  reach'd  the  tavern  be- 
fore us,  &  when  Mr  W-  came  &  told  his  trouble,  they 
very  kindly  went  back  &  assisted  him —  There  were 
but  two  beds  to  be  had,  so  M>  Smith  gave  up  his 
place  to  me,  &  Mr  &  M«  W  took  the  other —  The 
gentlemen  were  very  noisy  all  night,  as  they  could 
not  lie  down —  I  am  much  better  pleas'd  with  Mr  & 
Mrs  Smith,  than  I  was  before-  He  is  a  lawyer-  &  I 
believe  knows  more,  than  I  at  first  suspected —  He 
is  a  great  talker,  &  has  a  story  for  everything-  We 
came  14  miles  yesterday —  To  day  I  am  so  dread- 
fully lame  that  every  step  I  take,  almost  brings 
tears-  my  feet  are  sore  with  walking- 

Nov-24-  Friday  morn-  Turtle  Creek-Penn- 

One  misfortune  follows  another,  and  I  fear  we 
shall  never  reach  our  journey's  end —  Yesterday 
we  came  about  3  miles —  After  coming  down  an 
awful  hill,  we  were  oblig'd  to  cross  a  creek;  but 
before  we  quite  came  to  it,  the  horses  got  mired,  & 

[56] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

we  expected  every  moment  one  of  them  would  die- 
but  Erastus  held  his  head  out  of  water,  while  Mr  W- 
was  attempting  to  unharness  them,  &  Mrs  W-  & 
Susan  were  on  the  bank,  calling  for  help —  I  sat  by, 
to  see  the  horse  breathe  his  last;  but  was  happily 
disappointed  in  my  expectation —  No  assistance 
could  be  got-  till  Mr  W-  waded  though  the  water, 
&  then  2  men  with  3  horses  came  over —  We  came 
to  this  Inn,  &  Mr  W-  thought  it  best  to  stay  till  this 
morning-  All  our  company  have  gone  on—  Mr  Smith 
invited  me  to  ride  with  his  wife,  on  to  Pitts'g-  &  I  on 
some  accounts,  wish  I  had  accepted  his  invitation- 
indeed  I  could  scarcely  get  beside  it — 

We  found  a  gentleman  (Doctor  I  presume  by  his 
looks-)  here,  who  was  very  sociable  &  staid  an  hour 
with  us-  He  appear'd  to  be  a  man  of  good  informa- 
tion &  considerable  politeness  —  We  found  the  land- 
lord very  good  natur'd  &  obliging,  &  his  wife  directly 
the  contrary —  We  find  the  men  generally,  much 
more  so  than  their  wives —  We  are  12  miles  from 

Pitt &  here  like  to  be-  The  landlord  offers  to 

keep  Susan  &  me,  till  spring,  &  let  the  old  folks  go 
on —  We  got  into  the  slough  of  Despond  yesterday- 
&  are  now  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  Difficulty-  which  is 
half  a  mile  long-  one  waggon  is  already  fast  in  the 
mud  on  it-  &  Mr  W-  is  afraid  to  attempt  it  him- 
self—  I  think  I  will  winter  here 

Friday  eve-  9  miles  past  Pitts'g-  Penn- 

This  morning  we  set  out  once  more  &  proceeded  4 
miles-  It  was  snowing  very  fast,  &  one  of  our  horses 

[57] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

was  taken  sick  &  could  scarcely  get  that  little  dis- 
tance- Mr  W-  was  oblig'd  to  whip  it  almost  every 
step  to  keep  it  from  lying  down —  We  could  not 
ride  at  all  &  stopt  at  the  first  tavern  we  came  to — 
We  are  afraid  the  horse  will  die  &  then  what  will 
become  of  us? I  am  more  than  ever  discour- 
aged- 
Sat-  morn-  Our  horse  is  better  &  we  are  going  to 
set  out  again 

Novbr  26-  Saturday  night-  31-2  miles 

beyond  Pittsburg- 

Just  as  we  were  getting  into  the  waggon  this  morn- 
ing, Mr  W-  found  he  had  left  his  great  coat  4  miles 
back,  &  went  back  on  foot  after  it,  while  we  pro- 
ceeded to  Pittg-  which  we  reach'd  about  noon —  Mr 
W-  came  about  an  hour  after —  After  getting  well 
warm,  Susan  &  I  were  going  out  to  view  the  town, 
when  Mr  W-  came  &  hurried  us  away,  as  he  wished 
to  cross  the  river  before  night-  From  the  little  we 
did  see  of  the  town,  I  was  extremely  disappointed 
at  its  appearance-  It  is  not  one  half  as  large  as  I 
suppos'd-  but  I  am  unable  to  give  you  any  account 
of  it,  from  my  own  observation —  It  is  situated  at 
the  confluence  of  the  2  rivers,  the  Alleghany,  & 
Monongahela-  The  town  suffer'd  very  much  by  the 
flood-  One  house  floated  down  the  river-  its  inhabi- 
tants were  in  the  upper  part  of  it  calling  for  assist- 
ance- none  could  be  render'd  &  what  became  of  them 
I  did  not  learn-  I  believe  it  is  not  known-  It  was 
late  before  we  could  cross  the  river  (Alleghany)  & 

[58] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

we  came  on  but  3  miles  &  a  half  to  a  very  good 
tavern-  The  man  &  his  wife  are  both  good  natur'd — 
We  found  the  road  to  day,  better  than  for  a  long 
time —  We  left  almost  all  the  stones  when  we  cross'd 
the  last  mountain-  &  to  day  I  believe  we  have  cross'd 
the  last  hills  of  any  consequence-  We  are  now-  "on 

the  banks  of  the  pleasant  Ohio" 

Sunday  eve-  It  has  been  all  day  &  still  is,  raining 
another  flood  I  fear-  All  the  men  in  the  neighbor- 
hood came  here  to  keep  the  sabbath  by  drinking 
whiskey  &c  &c-  but  no  swearing —  I  sat  reading 
very  quietly  &  one  of  them  came  &  desir'd  to  look 
over  me-  I  very  much  doubted  whether  he  could 
read,  but  he  convinc'd  me  he  could  by  his  observa- 
tions, which  were  given  with  such  a  tobacco  breath 
as  almost  suffocated  me-  He  was  not  more  than  half 
shaved,  &  could  read  without  spelling  more  than 
half  the  words-  for  he  would  read  a  page  &  half  in 
an  hour,  nearly —  There  is  a  sweet  little  boy  here 
about  3  years  old-  He  has  been  writing  with  me 
some  time  &  talks  so  much  to  me  that  I  am  as  slow 
writing  as  this  man  was  reading —  This  is  the  6th 
sabbath  since  I  left  you —  We  have  lost  our  com- 
pany—  I  quite  want  to  see  some  of  them  again — 

Wednesday  Nov-  28-7  miles  from 

Greersburg-Penn- 

I  have  had  no  opporty  of  writing  you  for  3  days- 
before  now-  We  set  out  in  the  rain  on  Monday,  & 
came  on  13  miles-  to  a  hut-  with  a  sign  up  call'd  a 
tavern-  &  such  a  place !-  I  found  the  people  belong'd 

[59] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

to  a  very  ancient  &  noble  family-  They  were  first  & 
second  cousins  to  his  Satanic  Majesty-  I  could  but 
wonder  that  he  should  suffer  them  to  lead  so  labori- 
ous a  life,  for  they  are  among  his  most  faithful 
friends  &  subjects —  Probably  they  are  more  useful 
to  him  in  that  station,  by  increasing  the  number  of 
his  subjects —  Their  dwelling  resembles  that  of  their 
royal  cousin-  for  it  is  very  dark  &  gloomy  &  only 
lighted  by  a  great  fire-  No  one  who  is  once  caught 
in  it,  ever  wishes  to  be  again —  The  man  is  only 
related  by  marriage  to  his  lordship 

Wednesday  eve — 

The  house  had  only  one  room  in  it —  There  was 
a  number  of  travellers  &  we  got  but  one  bed-  that 
was  straw  or  something  harder-  The  pillow  case  had 
been  on  5  or  6  years  I  reckon,  so  I  pin'd  over  my 
handkerchief-  &  put  night  gown  over  my  frock — 
We  rose  an  hour  before  day  break,  got  breakfast  & 
set  out  in  the  snow  for  another  hut-  We  rode  several 
miles  on  the  Northern  bank  of  the  Ohio-  We  saw 
a  very  large  rock  containing  a  great  many  names- 
we  added  ours  to  the  number —  The  road  was  at  the 
foot  of  a  very  high  hill  or  mountain,  &  so  near  the 
river,  there  was  scarcely  room  for  a  waggon-  I  rode 
in  constant  fear,  for  the  bank  down  to  the  river,  was 
very  high  and  steep —  We  came  on  12  miles,  to 
Beaver  town,  on  Tuesday-  We  cross'd  the  big 
Beaver,  a  stream  which  empties  into  the  Ohio-  It  is 
generally,  fordable,  but  is  at  present  so  rais'd  by  the 
rain,  that  a  flat  is  used —  We  found  a  very  good  Inn 

[60] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

at  Beaver  town;  &  soon  after  supper,  Judge  Austin 
&  a  Mr  Weatherby  (Merchant-)  of  Warren,  came 
in — Not  Dobson  nor  Stephenson) —  I  felt  as  glad 
to  see  them  &  as  well  acquainted  with  them  in  a  few 
minutes,  as  if  we  had  all  our  lives  been  neighbors — 
The  Judge,  resembles  Dr  Goodsel  in  his  looks;-  but 
is  older  &  larger-  Mr  Weatherby  looks  like  T.  Dev- 
ereaux —  They  both,  told  me  they  were  sorry  Mr 
Edwards  did  not  know  I  was  on  the  road,  that  he 
might  have  sent  an  horse  after  me —  They  were  on 
their  way  to  Pitts  but  Judge  A,  had  some  idea  of 
returning  immediately  back  to  Warren,  &  they  had 
a  mind  to  hire  a  horse  &  have  me  return  with  him, 
but  Mr  Wolcott  objected —  I  can  guess  his  reason 
for  it,  but  I  will  not  write  it —  I  very  much  wish'd  it, 
as  I  fear  I  shall  be  oblig'd  to  walk  a  good  part  of  the 
way-  Mr  W-  says  it  would  not  hurt  any  of  us  to 
walk  9  miles  every  day  of  our  lives-  I  told  him  I 
should  not  like  to  walk  it  in  stormy  weather,  as  we 
are  now  oblig'd  to ;  but  he  said  it  would  not  hurt 
me  if  I  shouldn't —  I  have  already  worn  out  my 
boots  almost  entirely,  with  walking —  Mr  W-  is  a 
very  strange  man-  I  don't  know  what  to  make  of  him 
— I  shall  be  so  thankful  to  get  thro'-  &  then  if  I  am 
caught  with  a  Deacon  of  any  name,  again,  I  shall  de- 
serve to  suffer —  We  are  within  40  miles  of  Warren, 
&  to  be  unable  to  get  there  under  4  or  5  days,  is 
perfectly  tantalizing —  We  came  10  1-2  miles  to 
day,  &  are  at  a  very  comfortable  Inn,  just  in  the  edge 
of  Greersburg-  We  expected  to  get  a  little  further, 
to  Hart's  tavern  quite  in  the  town;  &  there  I  hop'd 

[61] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

to  see  Judge  Austin  again,  &  I  determin'd  at  any 
rate  to  accept  his  offer  of  getting  me  a  horse,  &  go 
directly  on  with  him,  for  I  do  not  intend  to  walk 
9  miles  a  day  till  we  get  there,  if  I  can  help  it-  even 
if  it  will  not  hurt  me —  I  won't  take  the  good  dea- 
con's word  for  that.  The  horses  are  really  tir'd  out 
&  out,  &  every  day  by  the  time  we  get  4  miles  they 
will  stop  &  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  get  them  on  at 
all-  but  it  is  so  expensive  hiring  a  horse  to  go  on, 
that  as  long  as  the  waggon  alone,  can  be  drawn  3 
or  4  miles  a  day,  it  will  not  be  done — but  I  feel 
provoked,  as  you  will  easily  see,  so  I  will  write  no 
more  on  this  subject —  I  am  so  anxious  to  end  my 
journey,  that  I  have  lost  all  interest  about  the  coun- 
try I  pass  through —  it  snows  or  rains  every  day, 
constantly —  I  think  in  good  weather,  the  ride  from 
Warren  to  Pittss  must  be  pleasant-  If  that  were  at 
present  the  case,  my  journal  would  be  as  much  more 
interesting,  as  my  journey  would  be  pleasanter —  I 
am  quite  tir'd  of  both,  but  still  so  habituated  to 
them,  that  I  think  it  will  seem  very  strange  for  a 
few  days  after  I  end  them,  (if  I  live  after  that  time) 
not  to  run  out  the  waggon  as  soon  as  I  have  eaten 
my  breakfast — &  not  to  have  my  journal  in  my  work- 
bag  to  fill  it  up —  It  is  very  troublesome  I  assure 
you —  I  fear  it  will  be  worn  out  before  you  get  it-  it 
is  already  very  dirty,  &  so  badly  written  you  will 
never  read  half  of  it — 

Thursday  eve- 

10  miles  as  usual  has  been  our  days  ride —  I  have 
[62] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

not  walk'd  my  9  miles,  but  I  walk'd  as  much  as  I 
could-  We  are  in  a  comfortable  house  before  an 
excellent  fire-  It  is  snowing  very  fast — 

Saturday-  P  M-  WARREN-  After  so  long  a  time — 

Friday  morning  we  set  out  early  with  the  hope  of 
getting  to  Youngstown   at  night  &  to  Warren  to 

night,  but  4  miles  from  Y n,  the  horses  were  so 

tir'd  they  would  not  stir,  so  we  stopt  at  a  private 
house  for  the  night,  an  hour  before  sun  down —  We 
had  been  in  the  house  but  a  little  time,  when  Susan 
look'd  out  &  told  me  she  thought  there  was  some 
one  after  me,  &  I  soon  saw  Mr  Edwards  &  2 
horses —  "I  was  never  so  happy  I  think" —  I  ran 
out  to  meet  him-  He  came  in  &  set  a  while,  &  just 
at  dark  we  started  for  Youngstown —  Mr  Ed- 
wards insisted  upon  Susan's  going  with  us,  so  she 
rode  behind  him,  and  I  rode  the  single  horse —  We 
reach'd  Cousin  Joseph  Woodbridge's  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  eve —  They  got  us  a  good  supper  &  gave 
us  a  bed —  Mrs  W-  is  a  very  pretty  woman  (I  mean 
pleasing)-  They  have  3  children,  &  appear  to  be 
very  well  off,  (you  understand  me)  &  happy —  They 
live  in  a  very  comfortable  log  house,  pleasantly  sit- 
uated- A  cousin  in  this  country,  is  not  to  be  slighted 
I  assure  you-  I  would  give  more  for  one  in  this  coun- 
try, than  for  20  in  old  Connecticut —  This  morning 
Mrs  Todd  came  over  to  see  us,  &  urg'd  us  to  stay  & 
spend  the  day  with  her —  But  spite  of  her  solicita- 
tions, we  set  out  for  Warren  soon  after  breakfast — 
My  horse  was  extremely  dull  &  we  did  not  get  here 

[63] 


A  JOURNEY  TO  OHIO 

till  near  2  oclock —  Cousin  Louisa  was  as  happy  to 
see  me  as  I  could  wish,  &  I  think  I  shall  be  very 
happy  &  contented —  The  town  is  pleasanter  than  I 
expected-  The  house  better-  &  the  children  as  fine — 
Cousin  has  alter'd  very  little,  in  any  way  — I  found  a 
Mrs  Waldo  here  just  going  to  Connecticut,  &  lest  I 
should  not  have  another  opporty,  I  intend  sending 
this  by  them,  without  even  time  to  read  it  over  & 
correct  it —  I  am  asham'd  of  it  My  dear  Elizabeth, 
&  were  it  not  for  my  promise  to  you,  I  don't  know 
that  I  should  dare  to  send  it —  I  will  write  your 
Mama  by  mail,  I  have  not  time  for  a  letter  now — 
My  very  best  love  to  every  body —  I  have  a  great 
deal  more  to  say,  but  no  more  time  than  just  to  tell 
you,  I  am  ever 

&  most  affect^  Yours- 
M  VD- 


Let  no  one  see  this  but  your  own  family — 


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